Darkened Hearts (or A Black Emerald)
by Leyoht
Summary: This is a crossover made by my friend, Amie Fortman, my girlfriend, Mary Morin, and me. - What seems like an ordinary day turns into a nightmare as Meera-Tails' twin sister-goes out into the woods with Knuckles and is captured by a beast. It is then when she is locked away in the beast's dungeon. Why did the beast lock her away? What should she do now?
1. Prologue

It all started with a young prince who lived in a castle deep in the forest. He had everything he could have ever wanted—yet he was never happy.

The prince was a very rude and arrogant person. If nothing appealed to him, it would make his temper rise even higher.

One day, an old beggar woman showed up at his door with a single emerald as an offering in exchange for shelter. The prince scowled at the gift, telling her to begone. In response, the elder woman told him not to judge a book by its cover—but the haughty prince refused to listen.

That was when she converted into her true form: that of a lovely maiden.

Fearing for his life, the prince tried to apologize to her, but she had already seen the hatefulness inside him, and placed a spell upon him and his assistants. Until he learned to love, the emerald that the woman left him would fade. If the emerald turned black, the prince would die.

However, if he loved someone and they loved him back, the spell would break. But who could ever love someone with the likeness of a beast?


	2. A Bookworm and A Nuisance

"Oh, hello there Meera!" the librarian greeted with a smile. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, thank you," replied Meera, returning his grin. "I've got another book to return." She handed it to the librarian.

Finished already?" he asked while chuckling.

"Oh, I couldn't put it down." The yellow she-fox starting scaling the librarian's shelves, carefully balancing herself on his fragile ladder. "You got anything new?"

"Only what I had yesterday," he chuckled again. "Which book would you like?"

Behaving almost as if the librarian had suddenly disappeared, Meera peered up at the minute collection of manuscripts and volumes before her. After giving a moment's thought, she grabbed a book from the top shelf. "This one."

Recognizing the cover and title, the librarian laughed. "But you've read it two times already!"

"It's my favorite." Meera smiled and climbed down, her tail dragging along the steps of the ladder.

"Well, if you like it that much," he said, "I'll let you keep it."

Meera gasped. "Really!? Oh, thank you!" In glee, she rushed up to the librarian hugged him tight.

He smiled. "You're welcome. Now run along home and have a good day!"

~3

"Good catch, Bokkun!" exclaimed Eggman, watching as his sidekick placed a freshly-killed duck into a bag.

"Nice shot, Eggman!"

Eggman was a tall, well-fit man. Every man in town wanted to be him, and every girl wanted to marry him.

Well, almost every girl. There was one girl who had eluded him, and he planned to be the one to marry her. So whenever he saw her walk by—her nose stuck in a book—it wasn't surprising for him to follow her.

Meera read as she walked. _I just love this story,_ she thought to herself. But as she turned a corner, she noticed someone blocking her way.

Eggman. "Hello Meera," he greeted with a smile.

Meera simply stared up at him, her ears folded back in disgust. "Oh...hi Eggman." She tried to go around him, but he continued to block her path.

"Why the dress?" he asked, wanting to sound like he cared.

It was at that moment when Meera remembered the dress. Looking down at her outfit—finicking with its light-blue gossamer fabric—she replied, "It's for my brother. It's to celebrate after he comes back from the Inventor's Fair."

The Inventor's Fair was something her twin brother Miles—nicknamed Tails—had been looking forward to all year. Meera knew just how important it was to him.

Eggman ignored this comment, taking a look at Meera's book. Barely any warning came when he snatched it out of her hand and started flipping pages. "You read this?"

"Eggman, give that back!" Meera jumped and tried grabbing at the book—failing to combat Eggman's height. "It's mine!"

Ignoring Meera's pleads, Eggman tossed the book into a mud puddle.

Watching as the mud slipped between the pages of her new book Meera's ears pointed in sheer anger. _That—that lunatic!_ she thought, her hands trembling.

She kneeled down and grabbed the book, wiping it as she could. The mud was the only thing keeping her from ripping Eggman apart.

"You should pay attention to more important things," Eggman said, then smiled. "Like me."

Meera glared at him—an angry stare in her eyes—but she didn't want to waste any more time.

"Eggman," she growled, "let me by. I've gotta go!" She shoved past him and ran to her house as fast as she could.


	3. The Master's Castle

Tails just couldn't get his invention to work. Whenever he tried to start it, it would sputter and blow off smoke—covering the whole house in dust and dirt as it did so. "Why won't this woodcutter _work_?" he cursed under his breath.

Knuckles—who stood at the back of the room—was covered from head to toe with a thick coat of ash. Smoke, ash, and dust turned his once red fur coat into a coat of gray. He sneezed as the dust tickled his nose.

"Why won't it work?" Tails groaned. "I've checked everything!"

Knuckles walked over and opened the machine's main hatch. But just as he was about to do so, Meera walked through the door—nearly hitting the echidna in the face.

In sheer frustration, Meera moaned, "That Eggman! I swear one day he's—!" Her eyes opening wide, she gasped at sight of the dirty fox and echidna. "What happened, Tails?!"

Tails looked as if he would cry. "The invention won't work…"

Meera scratched her ear. "Let me take a look," she said, opening the hatch. She instantly spotted something out of place.

"Um…Tails?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't the yellow wire be connected to socket four?"

"What?" Giving Meera a small push, Tails peered at the wire and chuckled a bit. "I thought I put that in the right socket!" He let out a small chuckle while replacing the wire and turning the machine on.

It worked!

Smiling from ear to ear, Tails hugged Meera. "Thanks sis!" he cheered—then let go. "We're off to the fair!" With those words hanging on the tip of his tongue, Meera's brother and Knuckles headed on their way.

Using his barbarian strength, Knuckles grabbed the woodcutter by its handle and started pulling it like a wagon. Thank goodness it had wheels—yet that wasn't enough to stop the beads of sweat rolling down his face.

Knuckles and Tails took off out the door. "Goodbye!" Meera called whilst smiling and waving. Within moments, her two best friends became two mere specks on the horizon.

~3

Tails looked at Knuckles, a lantern tight in his hand. "Did we turn the right way?"

Knuckles nodded when he responded, "My gut says yes."

Tails was unsure of Knuckles' sense of direction, but he knew Knuckles recognized his way around Angel Island—so he really had no choice.

Knuckles led them down a path where dead trees and savage animals prospered. Every tree stared down at Tails with a horrendous stare—the kind which sent a shiver running down his spine. He knew it was a ridiculous thought, but he almost felt as if they were going to watch him while he slept.

Already shaken by the thoughts of the trees, Tails made sure to stay close to Knuckles. _Knuckles is big and strong,_ he tried assuring himself. _He'll protect me if anything goes wrong!_

In the midst of Tails' thoughts, Knuckles let out a yawn.

_Is this boring to him?_ wondered Tails, astonished by Knuckles ignorance. Ears flattening against his head, he let out a sigh and thought, _Maybe I'm just a crybaby._

Feeling slightly ashamed and embarrassed at himself, Tails looked down at his feet as Knuckles continued lugging the woodcutter around. _Just look at me,_ he thought. _I can't even carry my own invention._

Before another silent word could have been uttered, the sound of a twig snapping split the air—making Tails' ear twitch. "What was that?" he asked Knuckles, growing nervous.

"Calm down," snorted Knuckles. "It was probably just a squirrel."

_How could a squirrel _possibly_ exist here?_ Tails thought with a sigh. _Squirrels feed off of nuts—not broken, dying pieces of bark!_

_Snap!_

"What was that?" gasped Tails.

Through clenched teeth, Knuckles faced Tails and snapped, "Will you—?"

"_Roar!_"

In response to such a horrid sound, Knuckles and Tails both flinched toward its source. There before them stood a pack of mad robotic wolves. Both stood in shock as the wolves inched closer and closer to them, the moon's shine reflecting off their metal, steam fuming from their nostrils.

Knuckles let go of the woodcutter. "I'm warning you!" he growled, putting his fists up in front of his face as Tails took a step behind him. "One more step and I'll—"

The next thing the echidna knew, one of the wolves thrust itself at him—making him tumble backwards into Tails.

With a quick look behind him, Tails realized he was on the edge of a cliff. "Look out!" he cried, pushing Knuckles forward.

Using all his strength, Knuckles started throwing the wolves off and away from Tails. It didn't take long for him to move away from the edge of the cliff—much to Tails' relief. He grabbed a wolf and threw it off the cliff—witnessing as the cold metallic body smashed against the rocks below.

"I'll hold them off," Knuckles shouted as he smashed another robot to pieces. "Run!"

Without hesitation, Tails ran as fast as he could. He left Knuckles and his invention behind, pushing himself until his legs felt as if they would disintegrate.

_Wait a minute_, he remembered, _My tails make me go faster! _How could he forget about his tails? Keeping the thought in mind, he propelled his tails as fast as he could—until he reached a most peculiar sight.

A castle.

The young fox couldn't believe his eyes. Stoned walls covered up the enormous composition—accompanied by occasional patches of moss and hideous groups of cracks in its foundation.

Tails studied the structure with piqued interest—but was soon startled when a _bark _vibrated into his ear. _Oh no!_ he realized, remembering the pack of wolves chasing him.

His heart leaping into his throat, Tails slid through the bars—only to feel as one of the wolves caught him by a tail. "Let go of me!" he cried, feeling as the wolf tried to drag him out. "Gah!" With a quick kick to the wolf's nose, he sent the metal mutt's head flying off. _Clang!_ the wolf cried.

Tails scampered to his feet, nearly dropping his lantern as he did so. "Huh," he thought aloud. "Whoever put this together wasn't very precise in the factor of indestructibility."

Now he was all alone. There he stood—before the great stone castle—in awe of the sight before him.

He peered at castle's front door, noticing what looked like a wolf face where the handle should have been. Letting a shudder crawl down his skin, Tails knocked on the door. "Hello?" he called. "Is anyone home?"

Without the fox's intention, the door slowly creaked open. _Did I do that?_ he wondered. Tails stepped into the dark and dusty threshold before him. "Hello?" he called again.

The door slammed shut behind Tails, which made him jump. There was no turning back for him now. Tails shivered and lit his lantern.

"H-hello?" he called with a shiver. "I—I need some help. I lost my buddy!"

Suddenly, a small, friendly voice said, "Hello, there!"

Tails jumped and picked up a nearby candlestick, shaking as he did so. "WHO SAID THAT?" Tails shuddered at the thought of what it could be.

Something tapped on his head. "Up here," the voice said.

The young fox looked up. The candlestick seemed to smile down at him.

Wait…it _was _smiling!

A scream escaped from Tails' mouth as he dropped the candlestick. _I must be going insane!_ he thought, eyeing the candelabrum nervously.

It lay there for a moment—as if it were a normal candlestick. It was normal—right?

Then it hopped upright. "Geez!"

Tails could now tell it was a boy.

"Talk about a smooth landing, 'cause apparently I'm not getting one."

Tails was astounded, his mouth agape. _The candlestick—it's alive! _He had never seen such a thing happen. He looked down at it in bewilderment. "How…"

"Well, now you've done it, Flamiere!" came a new, agitated voice as something else hopped into sight: a clock. But it was alive, with hands wringing and eyes bulging.

"This is just—AHH!" He broke off screaming as Tails picked himself up.

"How on earth do you have Mobian characteristics?" Tails thought aloud as she turned the clock this way and that, experimentally tweaking every appendage in sight.

"EEEYAAAAHHHH!" the clock shrieked in agony as Tails wound his hands and fiddled with his pendulum.

The candlestick, Flamiere, found himself unable to keep a straight face. What started with a light chuckle turned into roar as Flamiere and started rolling on the floor laughing.

Noticing the clock was obviously distracted, Tails reached for a screw at the clock's base. However, the clock was too clever for Tails—and quickly slapped him. "Do you mind?!"

Tails shook out the sharp pain in his hand. "Sorry," he said. "It's just…I've never seen something so incredible."

Flamier hopped up, finished with his laughing fit, and bowed as a sign of respect. "Excuse our manners," he said, straightening up. "I am Flamiere, and that over there," he continued whilst pointing at the clock, "is Silver."

Silver looked afraid of something; he kept flapping his hands in front of Flamiere's mouth—as if he was trying to shut him up.

Flamiere, unperturbed, merely drifted his candlestick hand to Silver's—causing the clock's hand to suddenly glow red-hot. Silver gasped in pain and withdrew from Flamiere.

Going on as if nothing had happened, the candlestick asked, "And your name is?"

"T-Tails. Well, Miles actually—but everybody calls me Tails."

"Well, Tails, why don't you come in and warm up for a while?"

"Th-thanks." Tails didn't quite know what to think of a talking candlestick offering him shelter in a castle, but he wasn't about to complain.

He followed Flamiere into a large, warm, richly furnished sitting room—the likes of which was lit only by a nearby fireplace. Tails noticed some picture frames hanging up on the walls—but the room's lighting wasn't enough to give him a clear image of what was encased in the frames.

"Take a seat!" Flamiere insisted, beckoning the fox toward a silk armchair before the fire. Tails did as he was told.

Silver's face turned white. "Not in the Master's chair!" he protested, turning toward the candelabrum. "Flamiere, this has gone far enough!"

Before Flamiere could have responded, a tea cart came rushing to _Master's_ chair, running over Silver as it did so.

Tails let out a small chuckle at such a sight.

Catching him by surprise, the footstool had hopped into the little fox's lap. It started barking with joy and wagged its "tail." Tails pet it a few times before letting it retreat under his feet.

"Oh…Flamiere!" Silver waddled up. "Wait until the Master finds out!"

Flamier shrugged and smiled. "He doesn't have to know."

A woman's voice caught Tails' attention. "'Ello, there. Would you like a spot of tea?"

"Who was that?" asked Tails, looking left and right. With a look down, he caught sight of a small black-and-white teapot with a star-shaped spot around her eye.

"Oh, that's Starling!" Flamiere explained.

Starling poured Tails a small cup of tea.

"Thank you!" said Tails with a smile as he picked the cup off the cart. He hadn't forgotten about Knuckles, but the yellow fox-boy could not simply pass up such refreshing tea.

As Tails took a sip from the glass, he heard a child's voice giggle, "Heh, heh, his fur tickles, Mama!"

Such a sound making his ears twitch, Tails pulled the cup away from his mouth and examined it. Upon doing so, he discovered the cup itself had uttered those words. Tails smiled and laughed. "Well, hello there!"

All of a sudden, the two big doors on the other side of the room swung open—incinerating the fireplace's light into a dark and cold shadow.

Tails froze before abruptly shooting a look at the door. Little did he know, the utensils and objects who had been so kind to him were now cowering in fear.

As Tails peered closer into the opened doors, he witnessed as a dark, shadowed figure swept its way into the room. With this figure came two piercing eyes—burning Tails' soul with the intensity of the fireplace's once raging fire. _The Master?_ Tails pondered.

The cold, heartless voice of the figure brought Tails out of his trance. "Who dares to enter my castle?!"

The two-tailed fox jumped out of the chair. Without his intention, he started shivering when he stammered, "I—I—I just—"

Before Tails could answer, the silhouette came to life—springing at Tails, only to miss him by an inch. The Master—as Tails decided to call him—gave a sharp look at the young fox. "WHY?!"

I—I—I," Tails stuttered, "I just needed a place to stay and ask about—"

The Master picked Tails up by the scruff violently. "I'll give you a place to stay!" he shouted, the rage in his voice building.

Struggling to get out of this beast's grip, Tails closed his eyes and thought of home, his invention, Knuckles—who had probably been killed by the robots—and Meera. _This isn't happening,_ he tried assuring himself, _This isn't happening!_ It all ended when two barred doors sealed shut, robbing Tails of his nonexistent joy.


	4. Time For A Journalist

Meera sat in her favorite chair, reading what may as well have been her favorite book. She eagerly flipped through the pages—as if a piece of candy was stuck on the back of each one. _It's just as magical as it was when I first read it!_

Her focus was interrupted by a cacophonous knock at the door. Flinching in response to such a harsh noise, Meera hesitantly sat her book on the table. Upon doing so, she picked herself off the chair and sauntered up to her front door.

It was then when she peered through her eyehole—scoping through it as if it was a telescope. The sight before her pushed an annoyed sigh from her lungs.

Eggman was standing on the other side. Folding her ears, Meera and opened the door when she answered, "Yes?"

Eggman—standing much higher than her—looked different. _Haven't I seen that outfit before?_ wondered Meera. That was when it hit her.

_Of course!_ Eggman was wearing one of the fancy shirts Meera had witnessed through the clothing store window the day before. _That stalker! _And to top it all off, he had matching pants.

"Hello Meera," Eggman sneered.

As a person who was always taught to act kind toward visitors, Meera had no choice but to say "Hi," in the most modest way she could.

"May I come in?" Eggman asked—though he was already inside.

A smirk befell Meera's face when she responded, "You might as well; you're halfway in the door." Even though she was against rudeness, it seemed appropriate.

Seizing his opportunity, Eggman rushed over to Meera's favorite chair. Not even asking for permission, he took a seat and rested his feet on the table.

"Eggman!" Meera scowled. "Don't put your feet on the—!"

"Meera, please!" Eggman interrupted. "That's no way to talk to me."

_It's _just_ the way to talk to you,_ Meera thought with a snort. Crossing her arms, she raised an eyebrow when she asked through a murmur, "Well, what do you want?"

Eggman decided to be blunt with it. "Marry me, Meera."

Those words stung her ears like a hive of bees. "WHAT?!" Meera was ready to throw a chair at him. _Marry him? Has he gone completely mental?_

In the midst of Meera's thoughts, Eggman pinned Meera to the door. _What a fool,_ she thought, feeling the knob as it into her grasp.

Her hand squeezing the knob, Meera let out a chuckle when she said, "I'm sorry but—" Without any warning, she opened the door—watching as Eggman tumbled into a mud puddle. "I don't date dirtbags!"

Witnessing as the foolish man threw himself into the puddle, Meera immediately shut the door and peered through the peephole once again. She giggled once again before rushing over to her back door, grabbing her new book along the way.

~3

By the time he finally reached town, Knuckles started screaming with every will in his body. "Meera! MEERA!" He knew something had happened to Tails; but where on Earth was he?

Eggman—covered in mud and scowling—saw Knuckles running by. "What's wrong, Knuckles?" he asked.

Passing him by, Knuckles yelled, "Like I'm gonna tell you!"

Eggman scratched his head. _What's going on?_ But—in all honesty—he didn't really care.

"Meera!" Knuckles cried out, struggling to catch his breath. "Meera!"

Not even hearing his words, Meera rushed up the hill behind her house. It was during this time when she heard voices coming from the other side of her house. It sounded like the whole town had been assembled to take down the front side of her house.

"Meera! MEERA!"

Her ears twitching, Meera looked up. "Knuckles?" she wondered, "What are you doing here?"

Completely out of breath, Knuckles collapsed to the ground, panting and clutching a stitch in his side. "Tails…lost…wolves…castle…" He broke off coughing.

Upon heeding his words, a slow wave of panic began to wash over Meera. "What about Tails? Where is he?"

Knuckles shook his head and threw his hands heavenward. "I don't know! I only know where I lost him."

Meera leapt to her feet. "Well, come on, then! We have to find him!"


	5. Prisoner Exchange

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Silver was pacing across the floor in obvious distress—wringing his hands in agitation, shooting evil stares in Flamiere's direction. By contrast, the candlestick looked bored and uninterested—as if he'd had to endure this type of thing before.

Finally, Silver burst out, "You just couldn't shut up, could you?! You just had to invite him inside when you knew—you _knew!_—that the master would never allow it! Now, what do you have to say for yourself?!"

Flamiere shrugged, not looking the least bit sorry. "So I tried to help that poor kid. Sue me."

"All right, I will! I'll see you in court!" Silver was positively bristling now. "I—"

"Oh, will you pull yourself together?" Flamiere cut him off, rolling his eyes. "It's not my fault that—"

Just as he had done to Silver, Flamiere was cut off when a small voice asked, "Hello?" The voice sounded identical to Tails'.

In surprise, Flamiere and Silver froze.

"What was that?" Silver whispered, growing more and more tremulous by the second.

"Only one way to find out," Flamiere replied. And with that, he raced to the little doorway from which the voice drew from.

As the candlestick peered out toward the source of the voice, Silver teetered incisively on his spot on the carpet. After what felt like a whole minute of hesitation, Silver snapped and finally joined his friend.

What he saw nearly left him speechless. Standing before the hiding candelabrum and clock was what looked like a female embodiment of Tails—but with only one tail. A tattered skirt covering her legs, she stood a little shorter than the fox boy. She looked almost like a boy, but her dress and voice gave her feminism away.

Silver and Flamiere watched as she slowly revolved across the hallway, peering into the doors and calling, "Tails, are you there?"

Upon realizing how similar this girl appeared to the fox boy, Flamiere gasped, "Oh, my Go—mmph!" But the rest of his sentence was cut off by Silver's hand as it clamped over his mouth.

"God, Flamiere," Silver whispered. "Could you be any louder?"

Flamiere put his candlestick hand next to Silver's—causing it to light up yet again.

Burnt by Flamiere's own grasp, Silver shook his hand in the air while gasping in pain. "Would you quit that?!"

Flamiere could only chuckle.

In realization, Silver peered up at the young fox and gasped.

He turned to Flamier. "It's a GIRL!"

Those whispered words ringing within his ears, Flamiere's eyes lit up. "A girl…" He turned to the clock, seized him by the shoulders, and shook him. "Do you see what this means?! This girl—this girl could break our spell! We can finally—!" Little did he know, Flamiere was burning Silver's shoulders once again.

"Breathe, Flamiere—will you?" Silver commanded, throwing the candles away from him as he gingerly massaged his singed shoulders. "She's probably only here for that boy in the dungeon."

"Well then—come on! We have to help her!" True to his word, Flamiere slid along the wall like the cat he once was—moving himself closer to the girl. His stand collided to the ground with a great _smack_!

The fox's ear twitched in response to the sound of Flamiere's footsteps. Bewildered, she scanned her milieu for a brief moment—then turned around and caught sight of a strange glow in the distance. _Was that light there before?_ she wondered whilst scratching her head.

"Is anyone here?" she called toward the light. No answer came. Unconvinced, she slowly turned away from the light and continued walking toward the dungeon.

Silver sighed and threw his hands up in resignation. "I give up." And with that, he started his gradual pursuit toward the strange fox lady.

~3

Meera wandered through the castle—following an unclear pattern until she made her way up a dark staircase. "Who's there?" she called—only to receive nothing in response.

Then—as if out of nowhere—an echo resonated into her ears! "Who's there?"

"Hello?"

"Meera! Is that you?" Meera was sure of it now: this wasn't simply her own voice calling back at her.

Her blood spiked with adrenaline, she picked up the pace and ran up the steps. It didn't take long before she found herself in a dungeon. It was there where she saw Tails in one cell and an unconscious Knuckles in the other.

"TAILS!" she cried, hurrying over to the cell. "Are you alright?"

Tails looked up, a tired—yet beaten look emanating in his eyes. "I'm fine," he murmured through a hoarse throat. What was once an innocent look turned to one of horror when he commanded, "Get out of here!"

Meera scoffed. "And leave my brother alone? No—I'm getting _you _out of here." She attempted to pick the lock, but felt her blood freeze when she realized someone was standing right behind her.

Slowly turning around, Meera heard as her heart thumped in absent fear. Upon completely turning, she let out a short scream and stumbled back—for there in front of her stood a frightening silhouette with deep crimson eyes.

"Who are you?!" the shadow yelled at Meera. "Why are you in this dungeon?!"

Meera looked at him in total shock. _Just stay calm,_ a silent voice commanded. Ignoring the silhouette's question, Meera asked, "Why do you have my brother? Why do you have Knuckles?"

"They have trespassed," he answered with a growl.

"But Tails can't survive here!" Meera protested. Feeling sorry, she cast a look at her brother. His eyes were full of sadness—without a single speck of joy or hope to be seen within them.

Feeling as time heaved down on her shoulders, Meera thought of the only solution she had. With courage taking over her entire being, she stared up at the shadow. "Take me instead."

There was silence for a brief moment. The shadow facing Meera didn't move. "You would take his place?" His voice was different now—almost pleading and genuinely curious.

In complete and utter desperation, Tails shouted, "Meera—no! You can't! Just go!"

Ignorant toward her brother, Meera asked the shadow, "If I promised to stay, will you release Tails?"

"You…would do that?"

"NO—MEERA!" Tails had taken a positively frantic turn.

"Of course," replied Meera, struggling to not show any fear upon her face.

The shadow, recovering from its moment of emotion, gave a brisk nod of his head. He reached over, unlocked the door of the cell, and dragged Tails—who was struggling tooth and nail to free himself—out.

Suddenly turning toward Meera, the shadow growled, "But I want your word that you will stay."

"I—"

"YOUR WORD!"

Meera jumped, trembling top to bottom. "Y-you have my word."

"Done!" And with that, he swept out of the dungeon—a desperately shouting Tails in tow.


	6. Meera and The Madman

Feeling almost as if he was experiencing a hangover, Knuckles groaned while pulling his tired, pink eyes open. _What happened?_ he thought, rubbing his temples. _Where am I?_

The question ringing true in his head, Knuckles pulled himself off his back—only to realize he had just spent the night sleeping behind bars. "WHAT THE—?"

Sitting right by his side was Meera—who looked like she hadn't slept a wink the night before. Her eyes were even pinker than Knuckles'—holding a look which seemed to ask, _What did I do to deserve this?_

Regardless of her sleepy appearance, Meera didn't act the least bit tired. Hearing Knuckles' anger, she turned and looked at him. "Oh great," she said with low enthusiasm. "You're up. As if I didn't have enough problems!"

"Oh—you've got problems?!" Knuckles retorted, his voice echoing through the dungeon. "What about me?! I'm stuck in a cell with no freaking clue where I am!"

Meera sighed. She was stuck in a castle with a madman. Tails was gone and Knuckles was losing his head—or at least what little of it he had to begin with.

Without warning, the cell's barred door opened—revealing the mysterious shadow man standing in their way. Knuckles' and Meera's heads snapped up. They both witnessed as the shadow's hand held a candlestick—the likes of which allowed Meera to finally see her captor properly.

Simply by looking at him, Meera could tell she had been captured by a hedgehog. He was a lot taller than she was—with thick, black fur covering the vast majority of his being. The only part of him which wasn't black, it seemed, was a blood-red stripe on his forehead.

_This hedgehog is not one to take for a fool,_ Meera thought. Stricken with fear, Meera gulped before asking, "Who are you?" She cast a look at her echidna accomplice before continuing, "And why didn't you let Knuckles go?"

He smiled: a mystery within a mystery. "I am Shadow: the master of this castle. That should satisfy your first question. And as for the second one—you didn't say anything about him. He is to stay here with you."

As if out of nowhere, Meera suddenly gained the courage to stand up. Tightly—almost angrily—she wrapped her hands around two of the cell's bars as she attempted to stare Shadow down. "But you must let him go! I agreed—"

"You agreed to stay." Shadow retorted. "You didn't say that your friend couldn't stay—so I 'must' do nothing."

"All right, then!" Knuckles shouted, making his presence loudly known. "I'll—I'll—I'll break out! Yeah! I'll break right out of this cell!"

"What?" Meera snorted.

Shadow gave a low throaty chuckle. "Go ahead. Try it."

To everyone's surprise, Knuckles heeded Shadow's advice. He screwed up his face in determination, scraping his food on the ground. _You can do this,_ a silent voice encouraged.

With one last second to concentrate, he barreled forward—yelling at the top of his voice—and ran smack-dab into the bars. _Did I do it?_ he wondered for a split second. His answer came negative as he reeled back, clutching his bleeding nose.

Meera winced at the sight of blood.

Shadow merely blinked before rolling his eyes in embarrassment.

For a brief moment—it seemed—a small snicker emanated from the candlestick's direction.

"This one's going to be a handful," Shadow sighed. Turning back to Meera, he continued, "Now, follow me. I'll take you to your room."

And without further ado, Shadow turned around and started walking away.

Her ear twitching in confusion, Meera wondered, _Does he want me to follow him? Is he taking me out of here?_

In the midst of Meera's thoughts, Shadow paused and turned around once more. Witnessing the confused—almost stupefied—upon her face, he snapped, "Well, come on!"

With a flinch, Meera stammered, "S-sorry!"

Giving the fox-girl no time to step forward, Shadow commanded, "And make sure you lock that door!"

Without hesitation, Meera turned around and did as she was told. She felt guilty for locking Knuckles away like this—but what choice did she have? "Sorry," she murmured. And with that, she and Shadow left the echidna all alone with nothing to do.

Knuckles sighed out of boredom. Here he was—trapped behind bars when he could be guarding the Master Emerald. _Besides_, he thought, _we don't want Batgirl stealing it again._

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

_What was that? _he wondered, suddenly alert. "Who's there?" Putting his fists up to his face, he growled, "If you want a fight, you've got one!"

Knuckles looked around and about before catching sight of a candlestick—the likes of which was leaning against the wall, shaking its head.

Curiosity itched at Knuckles' thoughts as he slowly let his fists down. "What on Mobius?" he wondered, grabbing the cell bars and pulling closer. Raising his voice, he asked, "What's with the tsk'ing?"

Giving Knuckles an appraising look, the candlestick propped his head on his wrist. "Congratulations! You're the first person dumb enough to try and break out of these cells. If you plan on doing it again, go ahead and get it out of the way now. I've got nothing better to do."

Knuckles scowled in response to the candlestick's sarcasm. That was all he needed now: some wisecracking…thing laughing at him. "Look," he began with a sigh, "can you just get me out? I need to get back to guarding the Master Emerald."

The candlestick's brows shot up in surprise. "They trust _you_ to guard the Master Emerald?" He chuckled. "Talk about low security."

_That's it!_ "Are you gonna help or not?! Me and Meera have to go back—now!"

"Don't get your dreadlocks in a bunch." Flamiere snorted. "I really do wish I could help, but I can't do anything without the 'go ahead' from Shadow. None of us can."

"Great." Knuckles slumped against the wall, sighing all the while. "This just gives Bat girl a perfect chance to—"

"Wait a minute," Flamiere interrupted. Raising his brows in curiosity, he asked, "'Bat-girl'? Who is this 'Bat-girl'?"

A blush somehow sneaked its way onto the echidna's face. Sweating, he replied, "She's—she's a girl that I…know…who's a bat."

"Yeah, that's basic logic." Flamiere rolled his eyes before continuing, "What's her name? And why are you so worried about her?"

Almost as if he hadn't heard Flamiere's words, Knuckles blushed and looked down at his feet. He didn't think he'd find anyone in this depressing residence who would be interested in what he knew about her.

At his failure to respond, Flamiere laughed. "Ah, young love," he chuckled. "It's terrible, isn't it? Girls just don't seem to understand."

Furious and ready to burst through the bars, Knuckles blushed a dark crimson-red. "I DO NOT LOVE HER! SHE'S JUST—" Then he stopped. Letting out a grunt, he asked, "How do you know about girls?"

In response to Knuckles' question, Flamiere's blood froze—making him look as if he would burn out. He had hoped he could keep Ruby a secret, but instead he found himself pouring his heart out to a prisoner.

Knuckles smirked. "I'm going to tell someone."

"What?" Flamiere asked with a flinch. Shaking his head, he begged, "No! Please!"

The echidna leaned against the wall and snickered, closing his eyes. "It seems we have reached an impasse."

"I'll tell you what," Flamiere began, "You don't tell anyone—and I'll set you free."

His hardheadedness getting the better of him, Knuckles retorted, "Well, what if I _do _tell?" Just as fast as he said this, Knuckles found himself staring a flame in the face. Leaping back in fear, Knuckles exclaimed, "Okay, okay! I won't tell!"

Feeling as if he had gained total control over the echidna, Flamiere pulled a key out of what seemed like nowhere and unlocked the cell.

A smile plastered over Knuckles' face as he felt freedom course over his thoughts. _I'm free!_ Victorious, he looked down at the candelabrum—watching the defenseless candlestick as it stood knee-high to him.

_I can just go on ahead and be on my merry way,_ he thought. _After all—what's a candlestick gonna do?_ Flamiere couldn't chase him; what was stopping him from retreating? Keeping the thought in mind, Knuckles allowed a nasty grin to distort his face.

Almost as if he had read Knuckles' thoughts, Flamiere held up a fire-covered hand and exclaimed, "Not so fast!"

His eyes widening at the sight of the flame, Knuckles took a step back.

A sly grin turned Flamiere's lips upward. "Now that I have your attention," he began, "Let me lay down a few rules.

_Shoot! _thought Knuckles. _I was _this _close!_

"I'm letting you go, yes," Flamiere admitted. "But here's the catch: you can't leave the castle or the dungeon until the fox-girl and Shadow become good friends."

"Fox-girl?" sneered Knuckles. "You mean _Meera_? You want Meera to become friends with that shadow guy?"

With a nod, Flamiere responded, "Yes—then I'll let you go. Do we have a deal?"

Knuckles sighed. "I guess."

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Flamiere. "Let's shake on it!"

With a sigh, Knuckles pulled his hand toward Flamiere's—only to realize he had just made a huge mistake. "FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF—"

"Problem?" Flamiere sneered.

Pulling away from Flamiere, Knuckles shook his burning hand. He struggled not to curse at the candelabrum when he growled, "We—ow—we have a deal—ow!"


	7. A Dinner Invitation

Meera looked around and about, thinking all the while, _This room is undoubtedly stunning!_ It was complete with a wardrobe, a king-sized bed, and a view to die for.

_Why isn't Shadow keeping me in the dungeon?_ she wondered. _Not that I'm complaining—but why did he take me out?_

Shadow watched as the fox-girl allowed the beauty of the room to seep into her eyes. _Maybe Flamiere is right_, he thought. _Maybe she _is _the one._

While admired by the scenery, Meera couldn't help but feel sad for her poor brother. How she missed him so. Just thinking about it all was almost enough to bring a tear to her eye—but still enough to make her sniffle.

"Uh," Flamiere looked up at his master, "Master…Maybe you should invite her to dinner…you know—be nice to her."

Shadow glared at the candelabrum him for a moment—then cast a glance at Meera. With great reluctance sprouting from his voice, he commanded, "You will join me for dinner."

Meera's ears shot up at the hearing of those words. Turning around slowly, she murmured, "I will?"

In response to her words, Shadow snapped, "THAT'S NOT A REQUEST!" and slammed the door behind him.

Hearing as the sound of this slam vibrated in her ears, Meera suddenly lost all control. Luckily for her, a bed sat right below her.

Unable to contain her emotions, Meera threw herself onto the bed, sobbing in lament for herself and her family. _Shadow,_ she thought. _First you take Knuckles and me as hostages—then you force me to have dinner with you?_

Even as her tears absorbed into the pillow below her face, Meera couldn't help but think, _Don't worry, Tails—I'll be coming for you._ The distressed fox rubbed her nose when she continued, _I won't let some beast take that chance away from me!_

~3

"Flamiere," Shadow commanded as he stormed away. Not even meeting the candlestick's eye, he continued, "Keep watch!"

Sighing, the candelabrum hopped over to the door. So many things were happening at once; he was beginning to think that Shadow's temper would be the death of them all.

_How many prisoners can we go through in one day?_ he wondered. _This is just insane! Hopefully this girl meets a different fate than what we've seen with the vast majority of the Master's other prisoners. _As Flamiere reflected the events of the day, a voice startled him.

"Poor child," Starling sighed, Silver waddling behind her. "She's lost her brother and her freedom—all in one day."

Silver—glorified as he was—shook his finger when he snorted, "I told you this would happen!"

Flamiere was standing right in front of Silver, trying hard to ignore his words.

"Something always happens when a trespasser comes along! You just _have _to be nice and kind! I wish I would've stayed in the future instead of serving under a rude _tyrant_ of a hedgehog and a rule-breaking idiot like _you_!"

"SHUT UP!" Flamiere screamed whilst turning around. "AT LEAST I DIDN'T LEAVE MY GIRLFRIEND IN HER OWN DIMENSION JUST SO I COULD SEE THE PAST!

At that point, both the candelabrum and the clock started glowing red. "I'M NOT SELFISH LIKE YOU! AND I'M SURE GLAD I'M NOT!"

Having heard the whole conversation from her room, Meera decided enough was enough. Anger taking control of her thoughts, she held her door wide open and met the objects' gazes. "Stop it!" she blurted, plugging her ears. "Just stop it, okay? Just please shut up—all of you!"

Silver's mouth dropped open in shock. After shaking his head, he turned up his nose and moved along as if to retort—but only succeeded in looking like a fish in a toilet bowl.

Flamiere flinched, cowed as though he were sorry but not yet able to speak.

Starling was the first to recover; she blinked once in surprise, then patted Meera on the hand. "Oh, cheer up, Meera. Things can't stay bad for you, dear. You'll see."

"Right," Flamiere added, trying to make up for his outburst. "And we can help you."

Meera allowed a little smile to take over. At least two people here were nice. "Thanks."

"Anytime," replied Starling. "Now, let's get you ready for dinner." She hopped past Meera's feet and toward her bed.

Flamiere picked up the cue. _Time to give the girls their privacy._ "Come on, Silver," he told the block, nodding toward another door in the hallway. "We promised to help in the kitchens."

Bewildered, Silver raised an eyebrow. "We did?"

"Yes," Flamiere hissed, losing whatever patience he had with the clock.

Silver—hopelessly confused—glanced at Starling; she was tapping her foot in vexation. "Wha—oh, yeah, we—we did." Uncertainly, he dragged behind Flamiere out of the teapot's sight.

Once they were alone, Starling motion for Meera to follow her. "Let's get you dressed. Not that what you're wearing now isn't' lovely, but the master's very—" She gestured demonstratively for the right word— "particular about things. I know just what you need." She strode over to the wardrobe in the corner and gave it a sharp rap on the door.

"GEEZ!"

Meera jumped; the wardrobe was talking! A pair of baby blues eyes blinked unwontedly out of the rose-colored wood. "Sharpening your claws, there, Starling?"

"No—just waking you up," Starling replied, unperturbed—as thought wardrobes often came to live around her. "You sleep so soundly, I couldn't think of any other way."

"But anyway," Starling continued, "Rouge—I'd like you to meet Meera: the Master's guest!"

Rouge's eyes lit up. "Is she—?"

Starling smiled and nodded. "We all think so. If only the Master would lean to control his temper."

The wardrobe smiled and shook her head. Smiling, she sighed, "Shadow will always be Shadow. You can't change that."

Starling jumped and pointed at Meera. "But maybe _she_ can! The Master has already asked her to dinner, he has!"

Being the fashion-bug that she was, Rouge started showing Meera all of her best dresses. "Which one do you like, dear?"

Despite everyone's wishes, Meera growled, "Don't bother. I'm not going out there. Never!" _There's a reason why I don't like boys,_ she silently scoffed. _And Shadow's just a prime example why!_


	8. A Negative Response

Shadow paced before the fireplace, wringing his hands and muttering under his breath.

Silver's head, as he watched from the hearth, snapped back and forth as though he were watching a tennis rally.

Flamiere merely amused himself by burning one of the fireplace's edges darker and darker. Meera had kept them waiting for about half an hour. "You know," the candelabrum said while observing Shadow. "If you keep doing that, you're gonna put a hole in the rug."

Shadow just glared at him—then continued to pace. "Why doesn't she get here?" he growled under his breath.

Silver—growing nervous as his Master grew angrier and angrier—explained, "She'll…she'll come around soon." Noticing his words did nothing to help, he let out a sigh in defeat.

Putting his bravery to use, Flamiere hopped over next to Shadow when he pointed out, "Master— you do realized that Meera could—"

"—Break the spell; I know," Shadow finished with a snarl; there was an almost sad resignation hidden in his voice.

"Good! So, you fall in love with her, she falls in love with you—and voila! We'll be back to normal before the week is out!"

Silver bit his lip uncertainly. "Are you sure?"

"I can't afford not to be! The Emerald's already begun to turn black!" Flamiere remarked.

These words seemed to hit Shadow like a hammer. He stopped in his tracks, sighed, and closed his eyes. "That's what I'm worried about. She's…beautiful, and I'm…well, just look at me!"

Flamiere paused before murmuring, "All you have to do is control your temper."

Surprisingly, Shadow didn't lunge at him or even scowl. All he did was resume pacing.

Silver scooted closer to Flamiere. Smirking, he asked, "So—how are things going between you and Ruby?"

"What do you mean?" Flamiere snorted.

"Oh, nothing," Silver replied. "It's just—well—I noticed Ruby staring at me today."

Flamiere gave a disgusted glance at Silver.

"Yeah," Silver smirked again. He knew Flamiere liked Ruby—and he was ready to show Shadow that he was not the only one with relationship problems. "I know I'm already in a bind with Blaze, but she doesn't have to know if I spend a day with Ruby."

Those words were enough to set Flamiere off. Grabbing Silver by his shoulders and glaring at him, he growled "Don't you touch her! If you so much as breathe on her, you _will _burn at my hands!"

Shadow met Flamiere's intimidating gaze and blinked once. Silver laughed, "You _do_ like Ruby! You hopeless romantic!"

In the midst of his anger, Flamiere blushed.

Ruby was the love of his life. He had only begun to have affection for her when the spell was cast upon them. The feather duster caught his eye every time she walked by—making him desperately want to see her true form. Even though he was a sophisticated servant, he was still a boy, and he oftentimes found himself trying to peek up her skirt—only to realize she no longer _had_ a skirt.

He couldn't even tell her how he felt. Ruby was clueless toward Flamiere's deep love toward her. He was simply too scared to tell.

The sound of a doorknob rattle caused Shadow to stop in his tracks.

"Here she is!" Flamiere whispered.

Shadow tensed for a moment and tried to straighten his bristling fur…

But it was only Starling. "Good evening, boys."

Raising an eyebrow, Flamiere wondered, _Is it just me—or did her voice just tremble?_

Shadow fell back into his usual bad temper. "Well—where is she?!"

"Hmm? Oh, Meera. Well, Master, there's…there's been a change of plan. I spoke to the girl, and…"

"_And_?" Shadow spurred her on.

Starling sighed. _Game over_. "She's not coming to dinner."

It was as if she had dropped a bomb.

"WHAT?!" Shadow threw the sitting room door open and raced down the hall to Meera's room. His three servants dragged behind, exchanging frantic glances all the while.

Once he had reached Meera's door, Shadow pounded on it so hard it nearly came off its hinges. "YOU COME OUT OF THERE _RIGHT NOW,_ OR I'LL—"

In the midst of his Master's rage, Flamiere tentatively raised a hand. "Uh, Master…I could be wrong, but I don't think you're going about this the right way."

"Please—try to be a gentleman!" Starling suggested.

Frustrated, Shadow growled and forced himself to mutter, "Please come to dinner."

"No!" came Meera's voice.

An outraged grunt escaped from Shadow as he turned to his servants for advice.

"Just try again," Starling whispered.

Shadow rolled his eyes and forced a smile—which was akin to the face an angry dog would wear before biting someone—unto his face. "It would _honor_ me," he said through gritted teeth, "if you would be so kind as to join me."

"No, thank you!"

Shadow couldn't take it anymore. "Fine!" he shouted. "Then you can go ahead and STARVE!" He turned to Flamiere when he explained, "She doesn't eat unless she eats with _me_."

Flamiere nodded and stood at attention as Shadow strode away. But as soon as he was gone, the candelabrum frowned and looked at Starling—who was staring blankly back at him.

"Before the week is out, huh?" she asked, a hint of sarcasm emanating from her voice.

Flamiere replied with a shrug.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to keep watch?" Starling asked.

Flamiere nodded. "Why do you ask?"

Before Starling had a chance to answer, a third voice greeted, "_Bonjour _Flamiere."

In response to such those two words, the candelabrum spun around and jumped a foot in the air. There before him stood a familiar feather duster. "Uh—hi Ruby." Shyness taking over, Flamiere looked around for Starling—only to realize she was nowhere to be seen. _Looks like I'm all alone._

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked.

"I—I—I'm…guarding."

Smiling, she asked, "Do you think you can teach me some more French?"

Flamiere had been teaching Ruby French since her first day in the castle—and she had learned fast. Her ambition and personality: that was why the candelabrum loved her so much. "Heh. S-sure," Flamiere responded with a nod.

The two made their way to a small room to practice. Flamiere may not have been able to make a move on her, but just being in the same room with her was heaven.

Flamiere sat on the shelf; Ruby sat next to him. "Okay," he began, "where were we last?"

"You were teaching me phrases of romance."

"Ah, yes," the candelabrum recalled. "Let's start today with Je t'aime."

Ruby tried hard to pronounce it. "Je…t'aime. What does that mean?"

"It means 'I love you,'" he replied.

Ruby nodded. "I love you?"

Flamiere smiled. "Yes." Feeling calmer than he had been in a long time, Flamiere allowed his flames to fade away into almost nothing.

Out of nowhere, Flamiere felt something touch his hand. He and Ruby exchanged glances and looked down; they were holding hands!

They both gasped and drew back their hands. "S-sorry," they both exclaimed in unison, blushing as they did so.

After a split-second-long pause, Ruby and Flamiere both peered into each others' eyes. Simultaneously, they slowly leaned closer, completely unaware of their actions.

Just as their lips were a breath away, Flamiere witnessed a tail trailing down the hall. It was Meera.

"Sacre bleu!" Flamiere exclaimed, jerking himself upright.

In response to the candelabrum's surprise, Ruby nearly fell over—but caught herself before she fell on her face.

"Sorry Ruby," he jumped down from the shelf. "I've gotta run."

Ruby watched as he ran toward the door.

"Kiss—" Flamiere stammered, "I mean—catch you later!"

The feather duster blushed and smiled, shaking her head, she said, "Ah—young love. Boys just don't seem to understand."


	9. Secret Feasting and Snooping

Meera didn't really know where she was going—but anywhere was better than that stuffy room. She found herself wandering around aimlessly until she reached a large stone room she assumed was the kitchen.

She witnessed as Starling cleared dishes off a long table and dropped them down to Silver—who put them away. There was a very disgruntled look on the clock's face; he seemed to mutter under his breath. Meera tried to make out the words for a minute, but decided it was better to remain ignorant.

Finally, Starling gave a long-suffering sigh and looked down at Silver. "Alright—wot's _your_ fuss?" she demanded. Meera noticed the teapot's accent became more pronounced whenever she was mad or frustrated.

Silver placed a scandalized, furious look on his face. "That…that…that…_stupid_ girl!" he screeched. "When is she going to cooperate?!"

"Oh, come off it; it's not Meera's fault," Starling snapped. "If Shadow never curbs that temper of 'is, he'll never break the spell."

Meera frowned and twitched an ear in confusion. "What spell?" she muttered to herself.

Unfortunately, the two servants heard her. Starling's head snapped up, and the startled Silver jumped. Witnessing as Meera stood in the doorway, he tried to smile politely—but ended up failing in the end.

"Did—did I say 'spell?'" Starling stammered. "I, uh—I meant it's 'spell-endid' to see you here!"

Silver cut across with a strained laugh. "I am Silver: head of the household." He gave a deep bow—the likes of which forced him to stumble forward just to catch his balance.

"We've met," Meera replied with a curt nod. Embarrassed, she faced Starling and immediately asked herself, _What was her name, again?_ "It's nice to meet you too Miss…"

"Oh," Starling piped with a smile, "just call me Starling, dear."

A small teacup came out from the cabinet. "She's pretty, Mama!" he exclaimed.

Starling smiled again. "Ringo, dear—you've grown so polite!"

Meera smiled and picked up Ringo, saying, "Well, aren't you just a cutie?"

A panting Flamiere entered the room—followed by a trailing feather duster.

"You okay, Flamiere?" asked Ruby.

He nodded. "I'm fine, Ruby. Thank you."

Meera crouched eye-level with the feather duster. "You look so pretty!" she complimented. "All of you ladies take good care of yourselves!"

Ruby blushed and smiled—as did Starling.

Walking up behind the candelabrum, Silver poked at Flamiere when he asked, "Why is it that she can say it and you can't?"

Flamiere blushed in embarrassment. "Shut up, Silver."

"I'm sorry," Meera apologized, "if I seem a little bothersome—but it's my first time in an enchanted castle."

"W-who said the castle was enchanted?" Silver chuckled.

The fox-girl smiled. "I had a hunch."

Silver pushed at Meera's ankles. "You need to go back to your room before the Master comes back!"

"Now, Silver," the candelabrum went over to the clock. "Meera is not a prisoner. She is our guest!" He turned to the fox. "Come. You must be hungry." Flamiere led her to the dining room, a protesting Silver following close behind.

Before Meera's bugged eyes sat a feast fit for several kings—no, several _emperors_. Everything was set up perfectly for her.

"Please, sit down," Flamiere commanded, beckoning the fox-girl to the nearest seat.

"This looks delicious!" Meera exclaimed. Various meats, pastas, sweets, and salads surrounded the fox girl; and this was just going to be shared between her and Shadow? Her nostrils flooded with delectable scents, she decided to stop wasting time and to start digging in.

~3

Never in her life had she eaten so well. At the end of it all, her mouth was covered in grease and sauce—the likes of which she had completely forgotten to wipe off. Her protruding belly made her look like she was pregnant.

"I am Flamiere," the candelabrum said, bowing down to Meera "and I am gratefully at your service." He straightened up and met the fox's gaze.

All the other servants briefly introduced themselves. Boys bowed and girls curtsied. Meera was so happy that there were actually people—or enchanted objects—treating her like a guest and not a prisoner.

"You're doing us a favor," Ruby explained while dusting off the remainder of the table. "We haven't had work to do in…well, _years_!"

"Really?" asked Meera, her eyebrows raised

"Yes," the feather duster replied. "All we do is lie around and be bored."

As Ruby spoke to Meera, Flamiere stared at the feather duster in awe. "Yet she still looks great," he whispered to himself.

Surprised, Meera and Silver all heard him clearly. They exchanged glances with each other before smirking at the candelabrum.

Flamiere looked back and—realizing what he said—blushed and shrugged. "What?"

Starling giggled when she sneered, "Looks like someone's got a crush on a maid."

Her eyes widening in shock, Ruby looked at her and then at Flamiere. "Huh?"

Silver smiled. "It's nothing, Ruby."

Pushing herself into the conversation, Meera let out a loud belch. "Oh!" she giggled, "Excuse me!" She giggled once more before asking, "Hey Flamiere?"

Nearly forgetting about his conflict between Ruby, Silver, and Starling, Flamiere faced Meera when he asked, "Yes?"

"While Shadow is gone, would you mind giving me a tour of this castle?"

Silver flinched at the utterance of such words. "What?" he snapped. "No, no, no—absolutely not! There is _no way _I'm going to let that happen!"

"Oh, Silver," Starling scoffed. "Don't be such a stick in the mud!"

"I'm not being a stick in the mud!" he snorted. "I'm just thinking of what's best for us."

"I agree with Starling," Flamiere pointed out.

"Of course you do," sighed Silver. "You agree with anybody who disagrees with me."

It was at that moment when Ringo started yawning. Seeing her son's tiredness, Starling piped in, "Well, boys—I'd love to stay and chat, but it's Ringo's bedtime."

"Okay, then," Flamiere said with a smile. Seeing as the mother teapot put her son to bed, he called, "Goodnight, you two!" before turning over in Silver's direction. It was then when he continued, "Whether you like it or not, I'm giving Meera a tour."

The clock sighed. "Why do I even bother?"

"Oh, thanks guys!" Meera exclaimed, a smile on her face. She picked herself off her dining room chair—finding a slight difficulty in standing. After struggling to balance herself on her feet, Meera started following the candlestick as he led her out of the dining room.

Upon exiting the room, the objects started taking her all around the castle—watching carefully for Shadow. The last they wanted was for the Master to wring their necks on this day.

Only about a minute of touring had come to pass when a small flight of stairs caught the engorged fox's eye. Even though she was just now noticing it, she couldn't help but wonder, _Why have we been passing it?_ Keeping the thought in mind, she broke away from the group and walked toward the stairs—her footsteps light like a butterfly's.

Ruby was the first to nice. "I think we lost her," she whispered, pointing over her shoulder.

"Huh?" Silver asked, growing suddenly nervous.

"What's the matter?" wondered Flamiere.

Both turning around at the same time, Flamiere and Silver caught sight of the fox climbing up the stairs. Their fear getting the better of them, they rushed back over to her.

Acting as if she hadn't even noticed the candlestick and clock, Meera stared up the dark stairwell. Shadows obscured everything—shrouding the room in mystery. "I wonder what's up there…?"

"Nothing!" Silver exclaimed, jumping in quickly. "Absolutely nothing of interest is in the West Wing!"

Meera was intrigued. "So _this _is the West Wing?"

Flamiere gave the clock an unimpressed stare. "Nice going."

Glowing red in the face, Silver grumbled, "Why you—!" With barely any warning coming their way, the boys started arguing in French.

Meera snorted at such a sight. _I guess boys will be boys_, she thought, glad she couldn't understand them. Keeping the thought in mind, she furtively slipped past them—careful not to let her bulging belly hold her back.

As she climbed up the stairs—letting the door to the West Wing cloud her eyes—she realized it was the second tallest door in the castle, engraved with mythical images. Upon reaching the door, Meera gently pushed it open—and gasped. The sight before her made her jaw drop in total awe.

The room looked as though it was once a magnificent, richly furnished room—but now it was in total shambles. Furniture bent down every which way; curtains exposed their holes to Meera's eyes. A huge portrait painting was crooked and slashed through the middle—obscuring the person's face.

In the midst of Meera's awe, she felt something pulling at her dress—the sensation of which made her gasp. Taking a look down, she realized it was her feather duster friend.

"Now, miss," Ruby began. "Surely you would like to see the library instead?"

Meera scowled before pulling away and wandering further into the room. Going further, she realized the damage was much more severe than first thought. The wood of the walls had been splintered and cracked; a mirror sitting near her had been smashed.

But what intrigued her most of all was a small glass dome—the likes of which held a shining object within it. _What is that?_ the she-fox wondered, letting her curiosity get the better of her.

As Meera got closer, she realized the object in the dome was a red chaos emerald. _It's beautiful! _Her eyes bugged at the marvelous sight—but her daze didn't last long.

A loud voice made her jump and turn. "What are you doing here?!" it screeched.

Upon turning around, Meera let out a gasped when she realized Shadow was lingering in the doorway, his eyes ablaze with anger. "I—I—" Meera could only stutter.

He closed his eyes and softly ordered, "Get out"

Hoping to calm him down, she murmured, "But—"

"GET OUT!" Without warning, Shadow threw something at her.

Unable to see just what this object was, Meera dodged and quickly burst out the door, wrapping her shawl around her.

Flamiere—who was desperately hopping up the stairs—witnessed as Meera ran past him, weeping all the while. "Oh Mon dieu. Madamoiselle!" he yelled while chasing after her.

But he was too late; he watched as she ran out the door and into the snow—where Knuckles was fighting off a pack of robotic wolves.

Startled by the echidna's sudden appearance, Meera asked through her tears, "Knuckles?"

"Meera!" he growled, punching one of the wolves. "Uh—now's not the best time."

Shadow—his fists clenching in sheer rage—watched Meera and Knuckles from the balcony. _I don't need her,_ he thought. _She's just a trespasser._

"Seriously, Meera!" Knuckles insisted. "Get outta here before you—"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Meera snapped, tears leaking from her eyes. "Don't EVER tell me what to do!"

Feeling as if those words were directed toward them, the metal wolves turned toward Meera and started snarling.

_Just try it,_ Meera silently called out to them. _I dare you._

Almost as if they had heard her silent words, the robotic wolves snarled once more before charging toward her.

"Meera!" Knuckles cried, not believing what he was witnessing. "Move out of the way!" Letting out a grunt, he realized, _I can't run up and save her; those wolves are too fast._

Still standing at his balcony, Shadow watched as the wolves turned on poor Meera. The hedgehog was ready to watch her get what he thought she deserved…

But did she really deserve it?

Shadow couldn't help but feel something for that girl. Something inside him couldn't stand to see her get hurt. It was this same urge which drove him to jump off the balcony; it was this same urge which drove him to charge; it was this same urge which drove him to protect her from the pack of wolves.

In the midst of her agony, Meera witnessed as Shadow defended her against the metal beasts. Such was enough to drive her out of her mentally-paralyzed state. _He's—he's fighting those wolves,_ she realized, _for me._ The tears on her face now frozen, she stood in awe as he valiantly fought for her.


	10. The Burns On Her Shoulders

"This might sting a little," Meera warned, dabbing peroxide on his wounds.

It was as if somebody had lit a fire on his skin. In response, the hedgehog growled in pain.

"Oh, come on," Meera snorted whilst shaking her head. "It isn't that bad!"

Speaking up for the first time since the wolf attack, Knuckles added, "I've seen worse."

"Thank you," Meera sighed.

Standing by the doorway, the servants watched as Meera slowly healed Shadow—keeping their distance in case of an outburst.

"That hurts!" Shadow cringed, glaring up at Meera.

"I know it hurts," she retorted, "but it will help you feel better."

"None of this would have happened if you hadn't have gone into the West Wing!"

"No," Meera corrected. "It wouldn't have happened if you learn to control that temper of yours!"

In response to those words, Shadow allowed silence to engulf the room. It was such an awkward silence—the kind which nearly made a bead of sweat fall from Meera's face.

_Maybe I shouldn't have said that, _Meera thought, biting her lower lip. _Oh God—why did I have to say that?_ Knowing she had only one chance to calm Shadow down, Meera leaned in up to the hedgehog's ear when she acknowledged through a murmur, "You saved our lives. Why would you do that?"

Feeling negatively confronted by the fox-girl, Shadow looked away.

The fox smiled—not caring if he had an answer or not—and said, "Thank you, Shadow."

The echidna nodded in agreement, a warm smile on his face.

"It was nothing," Shadow stated through a gruff throat, continuing to look away from the ones he had just protected.

And although neither of them cared to admit it, Meera and Shadow knew their feelings for each other had changed…

And they knew something was definitely there.

~3

"I don't think this was such a great idea," Silver's voice rose above everyone else's. "It's been three weeks—and none of us are even slightly changed!"

Flamiere stood on the mantle, the same bored expression on his face. "And he's off, ladies and gentlemen."

"Oh, you wanna behave like that?" Silver sneered, casting a threatening glance at the candelabrum. "I don't see you with any ideas. Is there something you would like to say?"

Flamiere allowed a chuckle to surpass his lips before he asked, "The real question is: do you have the time to just pop a squat and cool it? Honestly…you worry too much."

Silver shook his head. "I hope you realize that the Master's birthday is approaching in June?"

Flamiere made his response by staring into space.

"…Flamiere?" Hoping to find out what was going on, Silver waved a hand in front of Flamiere's face—but received nothing in response. "Flamiere! I'm not playing games, here!"

It was at that moment when the candelabrum started to swipe at the air, pulling himself closer to the edge of the mantle.

Raising an eyebrow, Silver asked, "Flamiere? What the hell are you doing?" He turned toward the others when he murmured, "Seriously—can somebody tell me what's going on?"

Then—as if he had lost his common sense—Flamiere jumped off the mantle.

"Flamiere!" Silver cried, watching as he plummeted toward the floor. Without hesitation, Silver scrambled to catch the falling candelabrum—only to miserably fail in his attempts. A loud, metallic thud split the clock's ears as Flamiere landed on his back.

"FLAMIERE!" Silver gasped, looking down at the candelabrum.

Confused, Flamiere stood up. "I—I saw a fuzz," he stated, "and I guess I just—jumped after it." In the midst of his confusion, the candelabrum suddenly started floating—a light blue aura surrounding him all the while.

A sudden hint of recognition flared in Silver's head upon witnessing the aura; it was his. "Am I…doing that?"

Not amused, Flamiere ordered, "Put me down!"

Silver snickered and dropped Flamiere.

Now down on his stand, Flamiere looked up and murmured, "Thank you, Seelver."

The clock blinked. "Flamiere? What happened to your voice?"

"Zere is nothing wrong with my voice, mon ami," Flamiere replied with a snort. Then he stopped. _Wait just a minute. _There _was _something unusual about his voice; he had a French accent—the same one he had as a kid, but more pronounced.

Could it be? Could it truly be? "It's Meera!" he shouted in glee. "Meera is lifting ze spell!" The candlestick looked as if he was about to shed tears of joy. "Mon dieu!" Growing more and more frantic by the second, he started heading off in Ruby's direction.

Hopping on his stand, Flamiere moved as fast as he could. The presence of his stand only made him wish he still had two legs to run with. Such a thought only made him more excited for the bondage between Shadow and Meera.

In the midst of his hopping, Flamiere turned a sharp corner. Upon turning this corner, he found himself face-to-face with Ruby. Without warning, he bumped into the feather-duster—the action of which caused the both of them to fall toward the floor.

"Flamiere…?" wondered Ruby, shaking her head.

"Ruby!" Flamiere exclaimed. "Cheri—I must tell you something!"

She blushed. "Could you get off of me first?"

It was at that moment when Flamiere noticed something tickling his base. Taking a look over his shoulder, he witnessed a cluster of feathers wrapping around him. He had fallen right on top of Ruby.

"Oh!" he quickly jumped up. "S-Sorry!"

The feather duster stood up and assured, 'It's alright. Now—what happened to your voice?"

"Ze spell, Ruby," he grabbed her by the shoulders. "It is breaking! I have my accent back, Silver has his powers. Did you notice any changes in yourself, _Cheri_?"

"No," she replied, shoving his hands away and rubbing her singed shoulders. Then, curious for another French lesson, she asked, "Flamiere—what does _Cheri_ mean?"

At that moment, he fizzled out. "Uh…why do you want to know, Ruby?"

"Because you've called me that twice," Ruby pointed out. "I want to know why." It was while uttering those words when she moved as close to his face as possible.

"Ruby!" a voice called out from the distance.

Flinching in response to the voice, Flamiere turned around and caught sight of Starling—who was standing at a wide, opened door.

"Coming, Starling!" Ruby replied. Turning toward the candelabrum she murmured, "I gotta get going; let's continue later." And with that, she turned toward Starling and headed off on her way.

Flamiere—feeling as though he had dodged a bullet—turned to leave. _Zat was a close one,_ he thought with a sigh. In the midst of his thoughts, he witnessed as a grinning Silver stood before him—his eyes narrowed and foot tapping.

"If you wanted to be alone with her," Silver began, not giving Flamiere a chance to breathe, "all you had to do was ask."

"What? What are you talking about?" It took the candelabrum a few seconds to understand the clock's intention. "NO! I—I wasn't—"

"C'mon Flamiere—we all know you like Ruby."

"Yes, but I wouldn't do THAT to her!" Flamiere scoffed, turning away. "At least not now. Maybe if we get married…"

Silver shook his head. "Not if you keep acting like that. She'll be hanging all over me before she will you."

More afraid of Silver than ever, the candelabrum glared and drew back his candlestick-hand.

But Silver didn't even flinch. "You don't have the guts, you French wuss."

That was it. Quick as a flash, Flamiere unleashed all of his anger in one big slap on the side of Silver's face. Such an action made Silver fall to the ground in shock. That was the first time Flamiere had shown any backbone at all!

Rubbing his sore cheek, Silver stared up at the candlestick—completely flabbergasted—when he asked, "Why did you do that?!"

Flamiere just walked away, leaving his friend to recover.

The clock continued rubbing the side of his face. "He didn't have to slap me!" he murmured.

"I would've."

Silver turned to see Ruby—who was obviously touched, but miffed. Only inches away from the clock, she marched up and poked him hard in the chest. "Flamiere is _twice _the man you will ever be," the feather duster scoffed. "He is kind, sweet, and sexy."

"Flamiere? Sexy?" Silver snorted.

"Yes. Sexy," she replied. "He's also quite charming. I've wondered for years if he's liked me, and now I know. But the way I heard it spoken…" She couldn't find anything to say. "Just…" Tearing up, she could only find the strength to say, "HOW DARE YOU?" Those words echoing through the room, she stormed off—her vision obscured by the liquid in her eyes.

As if out of nowhere, Starling—who was following Ruby—met Silver's gaze. "I second that. How dare you!" The teapot then delivered her own outraged slap on Silver's untouched cheek before joining Ruby.

Both his cheeks burned at that moment—making him feel as if he had spent the last night outside in the snow. "How many people were listening, anyway?!" Silver thought out loud, walking away.

~3

"Are you alright, dear?" Starling asked, placing a hand upon her friend's shoulder.

Ruby muttered quietly to herself, ignoring Starling's question. In her head, Silver was selfish—dashing Flamiere's feelings just so he could get a good laugh.

"Ruby?" murmured Starling.

"Hm?"

"I asked if you were alright?"

"Oh," Ruby sniffled. "…I—I'm fine Starling…"

Letting out a gasp, Starling noticed the burns on Ruby's shoulders—realizing how black they had become. "Where did these come from?" the teapot asked.

"Guess." Ruby responded, taking a look up at Starling.

The teapot giggled. "Well—now that you know, are you going to talk to Flamiere?"

"No," Ruby sighed, shaking her head. "I'll wait until the time is right."

"Well, how will you know?"

Acting almost as if Starling wasn't even there, the feather duster peeked around the corner. Flamiere was standing there, staring down at his candles. Surprised to see him there, she faintly heard him whisper, "I…I touched her!"

She giggled in response to his joy. "I just will."


	11. Feeding The Birds

Winter pulled in quickly, blanketing the land in several layers of snow. Pure white enveloped the land—making Knuckles and all his redness stick out like a sore thumb.

Shadow hadn't been outside in ten years; he was always cooped up in the castle. He was almost afraid to go outside—as if a haunting, malevolent force lived outside, ready to track down his every move. _Besides, _he thought, _it's too cold to go outside._

Meera—who had just awakened from a heavy sleep—thought otherwise. Eyeing the nearest window, she let out a gasp at the sight of snow. Her nose pressed up against the glass, she exclaimed, "It looks so pretty out there!"

Taking note of the fox-girl's enthusiasm, Shadow let out a snort.

Acting almost as if she hadn't heard his contempt, Meera rushed over to Shadow and started pulling his arm. "Come on!" she urged him. "Let's go outside!"

Baffled by her words, Shadow stammered, "Ou-outside?"

"Come on, Shadow," she giggled. "It'll be fun."

"Well," Shadow sighed, unsure of the wisdom behind her choices, "If you insist."

Her eyes lighting up in joy, Meera let out a minute squeal before whispering, "Yes! Let me just get you a scarf." And with that, she rushed over to her room—leaving Shadow on his own for the moment.

Despite Meera's questionable decisions, Shadow couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as she exited the room. He wasn't exactly sure what, but something within him made his heart leap in joy—the action of which warmed his blood.

"Here we go!" chimed Meera, a black scarf in her hand. It was then when she grabbed Shadow by his hand.

Feeling her hand rest in his, Shadow let a small flinch jolt through his body. _She's—holding my hand, _he realized, finding himself glowing slightly red.

In the midst of Shadow's awe, Meera dragged toward the castle's back door yard—throwing the scarf around his neck all the while. Knuckles and the servants followed. "Are you ready?" Meera asked through a smile.

"I—I don't know," Shadow admitted, looking down at his feet.

"Hey," Meera began, touching the hedgehog's hand once again. "It'll be alright. Just follow me and you'll be fine! Besides—" She twisted the doorknob before continuing, "You were the one who fought for me outside."

As Shadow squeezed Meera's hand, he felt as an incoming breeze swept into his castle—bristling along his spines. Strong as he was, he couldn't help but squeeze Meera tighter and tighter as the cold air's strength increased.

The hedgehog closed his eyes for a brief moment; it wasn't until reopening them when he witnessed the true beauty of the outside world. Such a sight forced a gasp from him.

_It looks amazing out there!_ he silently exclaimed. Snowflakes fell all around him—each one falling to the ground at the speed of sound. One of them fell on his nose—making him wince.

Seeing Shadow's amazement, Meera let out a giggle before commanding, "Let's get going!" And with that, she and the scruffy hedgehog stepped through the door and into the outside world.

As the fox-girl and hedgehog walked through the open doors, Ruby—who had been watching idly by—flinched in surprise. _Is Shadow going outside?_ She could hardly believe her eyes.

Excitement coursing through her entire being, the feather duster shouted into the castle, "Hey everyone! Shadow's going outside!"

"What?" called Silver's voice. "What's going on?"

"We are?" wondered Starling.

With all the objects confused at Ruby's words, their Master tried to have some fun outside. He acted like a puppy—curiously eyeing and touching everything.

Meera laughed at Shadow's child-like nature. _Gosh, _she thought, _He's really starting to lighten up, isn't he?_

She decided to take a new risk. Even though she knew she risked catching frostbite, Meera bent down and dug her fingers into the snow below her. Letting out a snicker, she picked up some of the snow and curled it up into a ball.

With Shadow's back turned toward her, Meera saw her chance. Snickering once more, she took a step back before thrusting her arm forward—letting go of the snowball in her hand all the while. After speedily zipping through the air, the ball of ice hit Shadow's shoulder.

Shocked by the sudden sensation of ice, Shadow flinched. It was then when he looked over his shoulder, an infuriated look in his eyes.

Such a look made Meera quiver. _Oops, _she thought whilst gulping. _Maybe I shouldn't have done that. Oh God—why did I do that?_

Having seen everything with their own eyes, the servants—who were standing before the castle's opened back door—all gasped in unison. _She must be mad!_ some of them thought. _What is wrong with her?_ others wondered.

Upon further investigation, Meera discovered Shadow's fury was covered up in a layer of curiosity.

The angry look in his eyes cooling down a bit, Shadow turned around when he asked of Meera, "How did you do that?"

Surprised at his response, Meera felt her ears twitch when she responded, "How did I do what? Make a snowball?"

Shadow nodded in response.

Wrinkling her nose, Meera giggled, "You've never made a snowball before?"

Shadow nodded again.

Meera blinked in surprise. _Did he even have a childhood?_ Shaking her head at the thought, she slowly approached the confused hedgehog when she began, "First you have to collect some of the snow."

Upon reaching Shadow's side, she grabbed his hand and continued, "Just pick some of it off the ground. Like this!" Holding almost total control of the hand, the fox-girl dug Shadow's claw into the snow. The feeling of ice brushing against his skin made him shiver.

Not even noticing the excessive shivering spreading through the hedgehog's body, Meera continued on with her lecture. She pulled Shadow's warm hand when she continued, "Then you take your other hand and squeeze the snow together." And with that, she used his big hands to create something of a capsule over the snow.

"Just squeeze it?" wondered Shadow, a light smile turning his lips upward.

"That's right!" Meera replied. It was then when she let go of Shadow's hands. _I think he's got it. _Seeing what was to come, she nervously tiptoed away.

"Hey!" Shadow cried through what sounded like an angered voice.

Hearing as Shadow's voice ricocheted into her ears, Meera froze in place. Slowly turning around, she wondered, "Yes?" It was immediately after turning around when she found herself coming face-to-face with the very snowball she had helped to create. After wiping the snow off her reddened face, Meera sneered, "Shadow!"

Shadow could only respond by doing something Meera had never seen him do: he laughed. It was more than a mere chuckle; it wasn't a giggle; it wasn't a snort; it was a genuine laugh.

Even though her face appeared red as a tomato, the fox-girl couldn't help but smile at the hedgehog. He was finally starting to lighten up.

In the midst of Meera's thoughts, a few nearby winter birds started chirping—the sound of which made her ear twitch. Turning to face the birds, she witnessed as they pecked at and swallowed birdseed—the likes of which had been spilled all over the ground. _How did that get there? _Meera wondered.

Shrugging at the thought, Meera watched as Shadow approached the birds. He took one step closer—then two—but only managed to scare the birds away. It was then—for the first time that day—when he finally lost his temper. "GET BACK HERE!" he screeched.

Her ears folding over her head, Meera explained, "You're going about this the wrong way, Shadow."

"What are you talking about?" the hedgehog grunted.

"I'll show you what I'm talking about," the fox-girl insisted. Hoping to keep her promise, she walked over to the pile of birdseed and picked some of it up in your hands. "It helps if you hold still," she explained, some of the seeds falling out of her hands and crashing back onto the ground.

Unable to hold the seeds any longer, Meera emptied her tiny hands—releasing its contents into Shadow's palms. Wiping her hands on her slightly tattered dress, she murmured, "And now we wait."

_The waiting game?_ wondered Shadow, growing slightly nervous. With all due respect, the hedgehog hated this game with a passion. Never before had he viewed it as fun or even intuitive. But—regardless of such—he decided to play along.

For about five minutes—or so it seemed in his mind—he stood still. Little feckless snowflakes fell all around him and Meera, catching in his fur and breaking his concentration. _Just stay still,_ he constantly told himself, _and don't make a sound._

After what seemed like an eternity, a miracle happened. One of the birds he had earlier scared off had just returned to him—and was pecking at the birdseed in his hands. _It returned! _Shadow realized, suppressing a gasp. _I can't believe it! _In the midst of his amazement, another bird landed on his hand and started consuming the seeds.

As he fed the birds, Meera stepped behind a nearby tree. She put up her hand on her chest and thought, _This feeling—it's new. _It was the kind of feeling she received whenever she stuck her nose into a new book.

_He's no Prince Charming_, she thought whilst blinking, _but…I think…_ Unable to finish the thought, Meera closed her eyes and blushed.

She took a peek around the tree—noticing Shadow was now covered with hungry birds. Standing as still as possible, a worried look showed in his eyes—the likes of which seemed to cry, _Help me!_

Finding the scenario hilarious, the fox laughed and smiled at him.

Even though it wasn't visible, a blush started spreading across Shadow's cheeks._ She's never looked at me that way before._ He tried to ignore what he was feeling, but a smile snuck its way onto his face—which only made him blush harder.

"Well—who'd have thought," Starling murmured from the doorway, seeing his redness. "Maybe there is hope after all!"


	12. Flamiere's French Side

Shivering in the midst of the snowy wasteland, Flamiere stood alone. He couldn't light his wick to keep himself warm; it just was too cold.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" It was Ruby.

The feel of her hand touching him warmed him slightly—but not enough to alleviate him of his freezing state. "I c-can't feel my wax," the candelabrum replied.

"Well, why don't we go inside?" Ruby took his hand, feeling barely any warmth emanating from it. Surprised, she continued "I'll get you a blanket and we can sit in front of the fire."

"O-okay," Flamiere stammered, his heart warmed by her hospitality. "If you insist."

~3

"Does that feel better?" Ruby asked while wrapping a light blanket around Flamiere.

"Qui. Thank you, Ruby," he replied through a smile. "I wouldn't be so cold if I hadn't spent ze last hour putting birdseed on ze ground."

"Wait a minute," Ruby began. "You mean to say that _you _were the one who put that birdseed there?"

Seeing her obvious amazement, Flamiere responded with a nod, the smile still strong on his face.

She smiled back, sitting down beside him. It was while sitting down when she felt the blanket brush along the feathers protruding from her body. At the same time, she noticed as the heat from the nearby flame enveloped her in its warming arms.

After a little silence, Ruby finally gained the courage to say, "Silver can be such a bother sometimes, can't he?"

"Yes. But Silver will be Silver and zere is nothing we can do about zat."

"True," Ruby replied. She shivered a little.

Noticing Ruby's shaking, Flamiere wondered, "Are you cold, Ruby?"

"A little," she responded.

Hoping he could oblige, Flamiere opened the blanket—offering her the spot beside him. _I can't hide my feelings much longer,_ he thought in defeat. _I might as well start being brave._

In total surprise, Ruby stared into Flamiere's eyes. They were warm—even more so than the fire sitting before her. Seeing his invitation, she scooted into the blanket—letting Flamiere wrap his arm and the blanket around Ruby. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Flamiere responded, smiling down at her.

There was a silence for a moment. "I haven't told you this before," Ruby murmured, "but you're really sweet."

Those words making his heart leap, Flamiere blinked. "…I—I am?"

Ruby nodded. "It's a wonder why you don't have a girlfriend."

"I could say ze same about you and a boyfriend," Flamiere chuckled.

Ruby chuckled a little too. "I have a favorite," she said.

"Me too," Flamiere replied, smiling to himself.

Silence fell over them once again. Feeling as Ruby cradled beneath his arm, the candelabrum found the sudden urge to fall asleep. His eyes fluttering, he let out a great yawn.

Upon recovering from such a yawn, Flamiere felt as something touched his cheek. In response to such a sudden sensation, the candelabrum froze. _What just happened?_ It him a moment to figure out what it was: Ruby had kissed his cheek. He felt like shouting with joy. "R…Ruby…?"

"I—" Ruby turned her head away. "I'm sorry." Fear pulsated through her entire being as those words flew from her lips.

Hesitant, Flamiere waited for a moment—then returned Ruby's kiss with one of his own.

Still facing away from the candelabrum, the feather duster perked up. Turning around, she took a look at Flamiere—noticing the wide grin on his face.

Returning his smile, Ruby decided to make a move. "You know, Flamiere," she began. "I've always wondered if the rumor is true."

"What rumor?" asked Flamiere, raising an eyebrow.

"That French guys are good kissers."

It was at that moment when Flamiere realized what Ruby was trying to do. _I can't believe this is happening! _But he couldn't lose his cool now. "Well…" he began whilst grinning. 'Why don't you see for yourself?"

"You know what?" Ruby responded, hesitant at first. "I think I will." A grin on her face, she pulled him close. "Kiss me, Flamiere."

His pupils shrinking in excitement, a silent voice cried within Flamiere's head, _You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment! _Doing as he was told, he leaned in. With lips coming only inches away from Ruby's, Flamiere sealed the deal at last.

Passionately drawing himself zero distance away from Ruby, the candelabrum gently kissed her lips—in the way French men do. Barely able to control himself, Flamiere felt as the wick on his head flicked around and about. He became even happier when Ruby let out a small murr—to which he responded with one of his own.

After only a few heartbeats, the candelabrum and feather duster finally broke off.

A smile turning her lips upward, Ruby came nose-to-nose with Flamiere when she murmured, "I guess they're true."

In response to her words, smoke emitted from the flame on his head—taking the shape of a small heart before fading away.

"If the spell depended on you two, we'd all be free," came a low voice—interrupting the moment.

Shocked to hear this voice, the servants turned around. Silent as a mouse, Shadow was standing in the doorway—a small smile on his face. To the servants' surprise, Meera wasn't there with him.

"M-Master!" Flamiere exclaimed, his grip on Ruby growing limp. "We have just—"

"No need to explain, Flamiere," the hedgehog chuckled. "I understand. I actually wanted to ask you for some advice."

"Advice?" wondered Flamiere.

Shadow nodded. "I…I wanna do something nice for Meera. Do you think you could help me?"

It was Flamiere's turn to chuckle. "Well, ze girls likes books, no?"

Raising an eyebrow, Shadow shot a confused look at him. "What happened to your—"

"Never mind zat," Flamiere interrupted. "What do you think we should do?"

The hedgehog had an idea, but he didn't think that it would be enough.

"I got it!" Ruby exclaimed, snapping her fingers.

Listening intently, Shadow wondered, "What is it?"


	13. Preparation

"Can I open my eyes yet?"

"Not yet, Meera."

Meera didn't know what Shadow was doing, but her brain itched to know the answer.

"Alright," Shadow murmured, fanning his hands. "Open 'em!"

At the hearing of those words, the fox-girl opened her eyes—finding herself mesmerized by the room before her. Such a place was bigger than the house she shared with Tails and Knuckles. In addition to being large, it was filled wall-to-wall with bookshelves—each one stuffed with manuscripts, pages, and texts.

She couldn't find much to say. "Shadow…"

"This is all yours, Meera," the hedgehog muttered through a smile.

Meera's ears twitched. In disbelief, she turned to Shadow. "…Really?"

Closing his eyes, the hedgehog nodded. Suddenly he felt her arms wrapping around his waist. Surprise took over his thoughts for a moment—making him hesitant on his next action. After a small pause, Shadow finally hugged her back.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" cried Meera, squeezing Shadow more and more with every passing heartbeat.

Shadow let out a warm smile when he responded, "It was my pleasure." Phase one of his plan was complete. Keeping the thought in mind, the happy hedgehog continued, "I also have something to ask you."

Taking a look up, Meera asked, "What is it?"

"The servants have something planned for us," he began. It was then Shadow remembered his last invitation—how rude and incompetent he had been toward Meera. This time would be different; this time he would treat Meera like the woman she was.

Giving a graceful bow, Shadow took her hand and said, "I would be honored if you would join me."

The fox was surprised at this new attitude Shadow had. A smile showing on her face, Meera responded. "Then honored you shall be—" And with that, she walked down the hall. "—because I accept your invitation."

~3

"We have one night to make this work," Silver instructed the servants. "We must not let that emerald fade to black! Now—half of you go to the West Wing, and half of you to the East Wing. The rest of you I talked to earlier: follow me!"

Everyone took off, leaving Silver, Flamiere, Ruby, and Starling standing on their own. "...Oh boy," he muttered.

Flamiere was still a little miffed at Silver—but the thought of him turning back into a cat made him forget his anger. "Lighten up, Silver," he chuckled, "and let nature take its course!"

"It's obvious there's a spark between them," Starling pointed out.

"Yes, yes," Silver agreed. "But there's no harm in fanning the flames…Well, a little." He waddled down the steps, continuing, "Besides, they _must_ fall in love tonight if we ever expect to be Mobian again!"

Such a thought made Flamiere sigh, "Ah, how I would love to be a cat again."

"And a lemur" Starling added.

"A hedgehog," Silver chuckled.

"A squirrel!" squealed Ruby.

Stunned, the objects exchanged glances at that moment. It had been so long since they were Mobian—so long since they weren't simple household appliances. What had they looked like ten years ago—when Silver was nineteen, Starling was twenty-two, Flamiere was eleven, and Ruby was nine?

"We really need to catch up," Ruby sighed.

~3

Feeling as the soapy water drenched his fur, Shadow let out a growl. Said water dared to drip into his eyes—making him feel as if somebody had poured acid unto them. _The things I do for love,_ he thought to himself. "Is all this necessary, Flamiere?"

"Qui, Master!" the candelabrum exclaimed. "You want to impress ze girl, no?"

"Of course I do!" Shadow snorted, brushing some of the soapy water out of his face.

"Good!" After a little more scrubbing, Flamiere looked over his Master's new look. "You look…eh…absolutely…"

Turning to face the mirror, Shadow took a look at himself—witnessing the bows in his fur. "Stupid," he finished with a grunt.

Flamiere gave a nervous chuckle. "Not quite ze word I was looking for. But maybe a little…off ze top?"

~3

"We're going to make you look beautiful for the Master!" Starling said, dabbing Meera's face with a powder puff.

Although she couldn't see what the teapot was doing, Meera didn't find herself very curious to find out about her current appearance. The fox had never been a fan of makeup—but if it was for Shadow, she'd go through the process.

Finally—after many brush swoops puff dabbing—Starling turned Meera around. It was then when she faced the wardrobe, the clock, and the feather duster.

"You look so pretty!" Ruby complimented, a smile on her face.

"Very nice," said Silver.

Feeling almost as if her face was bathed in makeup, Meera allowed a light smile to beautify her face. Suddenly, a tickle started developing in her nostrils—the likes of which was caused by the makeup. Wanting to fight back, Meera tried stopping a sneeze by placing a finger under her nose—only to give in with a loud "Achoo!" _This is why I hate makeup,_ she thought while rubbing her nose.

"Bless you!" Rouge chuckled. "Anyways, I have a suggestion for your outfit tonight." Without hesitation, the wardrobe opened up and exposed a lovely yellow dress.

"That is a very pretty dress, Rouge!" Meera exclaimed with a smile, feeling the awkward touch of the lipstick she had on.

Rouge giggled. "Why, thank you. Go ahead and try it on!" At that moment, Rouge and all the other girls in the room took a look toward the only boy before them.

"Say no more," Silver chuckled. With that, the clock respectively put his hands over his eyes as Meera changed dresses. During such a time, he a small urge within him tried to pry his hands away from his face. _Just hold it,_ a voice cried within him.

After what felt like only a minute, Silver felt as Ruby tapped his shoulder. It was then when he finally removed his hands. In awe, his jaw dropped upon catching sight of Meera.

"So?" the fox asked. "How do I look?"

"Turn around and see, dear," Starling replied, handing Meera a pair of long gloves.

Covering her hands with the gloves, Meera turned around—and suddenly jumped. In the mirror was a whole new fox. Her bangs were in a side sweep; her face wasn't covered up in as much makeup as she had previously thought. She wore a beautiful ball gown—the likes of which swooped a little over her orange shoes.

Hesitantly, Meera touched the mirror and thought, _Is that really me?_ She was in awe of herself. "Wow," she murmured. "Nice job, you guys!"

Giving a nod in Silver's direction, Ruby whispered, "She's ready."

Silver nodded back and headed toward the Master's room.

~3

"Voila!" the candelabrum shouted in accomplishment.

Shadow looked in the mirror—taking note of his old blue coat with gold buttons. Under that was a puffy white dress shirt. For the first time in ages, his fur and spines were neat and brushed. He looked like the prince he was meant to be.

But simply holding the resemblance to a prince wasn't enough to break him out of his nervousness. "I—I'm not sure I can do this, Flamiere," he confessed. "She's too—"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Flamiere hushed him. "She's not too anything for you! I have confidence in you, Master! Besides—" He paused to light his wick. "We will seal ze deal with music, romantic candlelight—provided by myself—and at ze end, you will confess your love!"

Just as the hedgehog was about to protest, Silver appeared in the doorway. Giving a bow, the clock stated, "Your lady awaits."


	14. Beauty and The Beast

Nervousness pricked at the fox's mind—almost making her wish she had never taken this crazy chance. Despite the fact that she literally had sweat rolling down the side of her face, she tried hard not to let her anxiety show. After taking a deep breath, Meera walked down the steps before her.

Shadow stood at the top of the steps on his side, equally—if not more—nervous. He started to back up, but Flamiere peeked out from the curtain, pushing and urging him to go on.

Taking a look behind him, Shadow witnessed an encouraging smile on the candelabrum's face. At the same time, Flamiere seemed to mouth the words, "You can do it." That was enough for the hedgehog to sum up his courage and make his way down the steps toward Meera.

Smiling and blushing at each other, the fox and hedgehog bowing courtly upon meeting up—their hands just inches away from each other. In the midst of their shyness, Shadow held a hand out to Meera.

"Oh!" giggled Meera. _Such a gentlemen_, she thought while taking his hand.

Mesmerized by her beauty, Shadow led Meera down the steps, holding her hand all the while. They both passed by golden railings—the likes of which were covered in gossamer white fabrics. _Did my servants put that there?_ wondered Shadow. The thought stuck in his head until they reached the dining room.

Once they made it to a long, rectangular table, Shadow pulled Meera toward a little wooden chair. Such a chair stood at a thin frame—which made Meera worry if this wooden object would be able to hold her up without breaking.

Loosening his grip on the fox-girl's hand, Shadow cleared his throat as he pulled out the chair from under the table.

Taking the hint, Meera suppressed another giggle before setting herself down on the exposed chair. It was then when she felt Shadow push her closer to the table. "Thank you," she murmured with a smile.

A blush crossed Shadow's face once again before he sauntered over to the other side of the table—where another chair waited for him. Without hesitation, he pulled the chair out for himself and sat himself down.

It was then when he realized just how far away from Meera he really was. _Why does this table have to be so long?_ he thought with an inaudible groan.

Regardless of such, Shadow couldn't help but notice the food below him. He resisted the urge to salivate as its aura lingered in his nostrils. Shaking his head, he looked down at the food and picked up the silverware before him.

Meera did the same. As they ate, she noticed Shadow's newfound manners. In addition to sitting upright, he seemed to know how to use his napkin properly. Besides struggling a little with his spoon, he managed rather nicely.

~3

When they had finished eating, Meera decided it was time for her to make her move. Her blush covered by the makeup on her face, she picked herself up on her feet and walked over to Shadow. Giggling, she bent down and whispered into his ear, "I'm ready, Shadow."

"I know," the hedgehog murmured in response. Slowly and cautiously, Shadow removed himself from his seat and took a hold of the fox-girl's hand. Feeling safe—almost secure—with her hand in his, he made his way over to the ballroom.

The mere sight of such a beautiful room was enough to push a gasp out of Meera. Her vision clouded with beautiful shades of gold and orange—the likes of which nearly matched the colors of her outfit. At the edge of the ballroom was a series of windows; through their glass lay a vast army of stars.

Watching as the fox and hedgehog pulled themselves into the room, Starling felt her heart leap in joy. _Oh my, _she thought with a sigh. _I'm glad that we'll turn into objects soon enough, but I feel like that isn't even worth mentioning when these two love each other as much as they do._

As Meera and Shadow stepped into the ballroom, the teapot winked toward Ringo. Ringo winked toward musician objects—and just like that, music started paying. Seeing her chance Starling started singing:

_"Tale as old as time,_

_ True as it can be._

_ Barely even friends,_

_ Then somebody bends_

_ Unexpectedly…"_

The fox took the nervous hedgehog's hands. She put one around her waist and held one in her other hand. In response to Meera's gestures, Shadow let a gulp slide down his throat—but did nothing to stop her.

"_Just a little change,_

_ Small—to say the least._

_ Both a little scared._

_ Neither one prepared,_

_ Beauty and the Beast."_

At that moment, they both started dancing. Millions of butterflies filled their stomachs—daring to bring them both down. _Don't fail me now!_ Shadow and Meera silently screamed at their feet.

However, with each passing second, their nervousness began to fade. Feeling a sudden confidence flow over his head, Shadow looked down at Meera—a bright smile on his face. Meera returned his smile with a gentler, warmer one of her own.

At the edge of the ballroom, Flamiere stood with Ruby; he kept his uninterrupted attention on Starling—until a new voice took over.

_"Ever just the same,_

_ Ever a surprise,_

_ Even as before_

_ Ever just as sure_

_ As the sun will rise."_

It was younger, lighter—like an angel's voice. Turning his head toward the source, the candelabrum caught sight of the one he loved most near and dear: Ruby. Those beautiful words had flown from her mouth!

Barely able to comprehend what he had just heard, his jaw dropped and his flame fizzled out. "Mon Dieu. Ruby…can sing?"

Out of nowhere, Silver nudged Flamiere's shoulder. "Go ask her to dance!"

"Me?" Flamiere chuckled nervously. "Silver—I can't. I have no feet."

"You have a stand, don't you?"

Nearly baffled, Flamiere responded, "Qui."

The one word filling his ears, the clock pushed his friend closer to the feather duster. "Then be the ladies' man you were at age eleven—and ask her to dance!"

"Silver!" Flamiere growled in a struggle. "Zat Flamiere is gone! Besides—I could never come close to her level."

"Whose level?"

Flamiere jumped and turned around; Ruby was standing beside him. "Uh…Bonjour, Ruby…" he stammered.

"Bonjour," she replied. Ruby remembered the kiss on the cheek they shared earlier; feeling the memory ebb within her head, she turned her head nervously. Had she the ability, she would have been blushing right then and there.

Flamiere also remembered. "So…" He felt a warm, funny feeling inside him. "Ruby?"

Her face brightening slightly, Ruby peered into the candelabrum's eyes when she responded, "Yes?"

Witnessing a lively spark within her eyes, Flamiere stammered, "Um…" He tried everything he could to push the words out—but only succeeded in making her giggle. Finally giving up on words, Flamiere hung his head low, shyly holding out a candlestick to her.

The sight of his outstretched hand filling her vision, the feather duster put her head over her mouth.

"May I have zis dance, Cheri?" he asked through a nervous smile.

Giggling, Ruby reached over and grabbed his hand. She cared not how it felt uncomfortably warm; at least Flamiere was able to control it to the point where it wouldn't scathe her hand. Ignoring the slight pain in her hand, she finally responded, "You may."

_She said yes!_ the surprised candelabrum realized. _After all we've gone through—she said yes! _Practically hearing Silver cheer for him, Flamiere noticed as Ruby led him to the ballroom floor, squeezing onto his hand as she did so.

Now standing atop the floor, the feather duster adjusted his candles. Nervous and unsure of what to say, Flamiere stood and watched as she tinkered with his appendages.

Just as quickly as they had walked out to the floor, Ruby took Flamiere's free hand and started dancing with him. Showering over her face was a great smile—the likes of which seemed to disappear when she realized a light scowl on the candelabrum's face. Confused, Ruby asked through a murmur, "What's wrong, Flamiere?"

"I just…I never knew you could sing so well," the embarrassed candelabrum replied.

Ruby snorted, "Don't worry about that."

As Flamiere and Ruby resumed dancing, Meera smiled up at Shadow. _He's such a good dancer, _she realized.

But beyond that, the hedgehog had changed in the few short weeks she had been there. It most certainly was a change for the better; after all, nobody wanted to change for the worse at a time like this.

In the midst of her thoughts, Meera took notice of the fuzzy feeling inside her. She loved him; there was no doubt about it. Letting out a sigh, the fox-girl sat her head upon his shoulder.

Such an affectionate gesture caused Shadow's heart to flutter. His eyes widened and a joyful smile spread across his face.

Feeling happier than he had in eons, the hedgehog shot a look at Silver—who was winking and giving him a thumbs-up from across the rom.

Ruby began to sing with Starling once again, but this time Flamiere joined in.

_"Tale as old as time._

_ Tune as old as song._

_ Bittersweet and strange,_

_ Finding you can change,_

_ Learning you were wrong."_

A slight gasp escaped from Ruby when she exclaimed, "You have a wonderful voice!"

"Oh, it's nothing zat special, Cheri," Flamiere chuckled.

Flabbergasted, Ruby replied, "Yes it is! You don't usually find great guy singers like you."

In response to the feather duster's amazement, Flamiere let a shy grin cross his face.

"Oh—and by the way—" Ruby leaned closer and whispered, "I know what Cheri means."

Flamiere blushed as Ruby—much like Meera—set her head on his shoulder.

This great day—this day of happiness and serenity—was drawing to its end. Hoping to conclude this night with a bang, every last servant within the room sang one last time:

_"Certain as the sun_

_ Rising in the East._

_ Tale as old as time,_

_ Song as old as rhyme,_

_ Beauty and the Beast."_


	15. The Truth In A Mirror

Having wept nonstop for almost two months, Tails buried his face in his pillow. "Oh, Meera," he sobbed. "You must be terrified! Why couldn't you just let that beast take me? Why won't anybody look for you?"

Sobbing, the fox sat himself upright. He rubbed his nose as he thought, _I can't believe it. Is she even alive?_ "Wait a second," Tails finally realized, shaking his head. "Why am I just sitting here?!"

At that moment, Miles quickly put on his coat and flew out the door. Before him sat a blizzard—the likes of which brushed through his yellow fur with the intensity of a tornado. "I'M COMING, MEERA!"

~3

Shadow and Meera sat out on the balcony railing; a sense of great tranquility flowed all about them. Misty clouds of breath flew around in the air—the likes of which emanated from their mouths and noses.

Shining intensely within the night sky, the stars seemed to match the luminescence of fireflies. Such a sight was nearly enough to bring Meera to tears; such a sight was just enough to bring Shadow to ask, "Meera?"

Her ear twitching, Meera witnessed as Shadow scooted closer. "Yes?" she responded, a light giggle sprouting from her voice.

Resting his large beast hand over Meera's miniscule fist, the hedgehog looked up into her eyes when he asked, "Are you happy here with me?"

"Why—yes," Meera replied.

Nearly gasping, Shadow took hearing of the sad tone in her answer. His ears nearly flattened against his head when he wondered, "What's wrong?"

"If only I could see my brother again," she sighed in response. "Just for a moment. I miss him so…"

Driven by guilt, Shadow cringed at the hearing of the fox-girl's words. After giving a moment to think, he finally replied, "There is a way."

~3

The hedgehog picked up a small mirror before explaining, "This mirror will show you anything you want to see."

Perplexed, Meera pulled the mirror out of his hands. _That's absurd,_ she thought, stifling a chuckle. _I really doubt a mirror can show me _anything_ I want it to._ She allowed a small pause to slip into her mind before she realized, _Then again—I never thought that talking clocks, candlesticks, and feather-dusters could possibly exist._

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Meera faced the mirror and asked, "I'd like to see my brother, please."

First there was nothing; then—as if to prove Meera wrong once and for all—the mirror glowed bright green, nearly bringing her into temporary blindness. After a heartbeat had come to pass, the light died out—revealing a shivering Tails, lying on the ground. He was half covered in snow, coughing and sneezing quite frequently.

"Oh no!" Meera gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "Tails!" The shine of tears covering her eyes, she turned toward Shadow when she exclaimed, "H-he's sick! He could die!"

Barely able to look Meera in the eyes without cringing away, Shadow turned away. Upon doing so, he caught sight of the chaos emerald's encasement.

He nearly let out a gasp at such a sight. The emerald before him held a very light gray shade of gray with only a slight red tint left. _It's almost dead,_ he realized with a moan.

Though he would be risking his own life, Shadow knew what he was to do. After a small pause of hesitation, he finally murmured "Then you must go to him."

Meera blinked. "What did you say?" she asked, her pupils shrinking in disbelief.

"…You are no longer my prisoner." His tone was quiet—moreso than Meera had ever heard it. Holding a darkened heart within his chest, he pulled himself up to her ear and whispered, "You're free…"

"Really?" She was elated. "Oh—thank you!" Almost as happy as she felt during her time at the ballroom the night before, Meera squeezed Shadow—but even that was not enough to stop the aching within his heart.

After placing a kiss on the hedgehog's nose, Meera turned away when she murmured, "Hold on, Tails! I'm coming!" It was before heading off on her way when the fox handed the mirror back to Shadow.

"No," the hedgehog denied. "You keep it. Use it as a way to look back…and remember me."

Meera put a hand on his cheek. "Thank you for understanding how much he needs me." And with that, she hesitated—looking into Shadow's warm eyes—before turning and walking away.

Standing nearby was Silver—who watched as Meera passed him by. "I suppose everything is going swimmingly?" he asked his Master, a broad smile on his face. "I knew you had it in you, Master! I just—"

"I let her go."

Silver turned white. A gulp slid down his throat when he stammered, "…Y-you…what?!"

"I had to, Silver."

Totally flabbergasted, Silver wondered through a murmur, "But why?"

"Because…" Shadow turned to Silver. There was something in the hedgehog's eyes—something Silver had never, ever seen before. That something was a tear; Shadow was weeping. A sob blossoming from his voice, he admitted, "I love her."

~3

"HE DID WHAT?!"

"Yes; I'm afraid it's true," Silver nodded sadly.

In complete disarray, Flamiere shook his candlestick. "But he was so close!" he shouted. "So close!"

"And just when he learned to love," Starling sighed.

The candelabrum perked up. "Zat's it zen! Zat should break ze spell!"

"But it's not enough, Flamiere," Ruby explained, shaking her head. "She has to love him in return."

Everybody was so busy mourning for one another; not one of them noticed the loud, saddening roar Shadow let out as Meera and Knuckles fled away into the blinding snowstorm.


	16. Hide Your Children, Hide Your Wives!

"M-Meera?" the fox-boy sniffled, his freezing eyes opening wide.

"Shh," Meera murmured as she rubbed a warm rag on her brother's face. "It's okay, Tails. I'm here now."

Numb from his failure of a journey, Tails sat up and caught sight of a familiar red echidna. "Knuckles!" he gasped. Taking a look to his right, he caught sight of his sister.

"Meera!" Tails exclaimed. "You're alive! But the beast—h-how did you escape?"

"We didn't escape," Knuckles explained. "He let us go free."

His ears stinging with those words, Tails' jaw dropped in complete and utter disbelief.

"He's changed somehow, Tails," said Meera, grabbing her brother's limp hand. "He's not the horrible creature he once was. I think I—"

Just then, Meera's bag fell open—interrupting her as it crashed against the floor. At the same time, the magic mirror she had used to find Tails slipped out of place; Meera was surprised it didn't break as it met the floor with a great _Bonk! _Letting out a sigh, she came to the bag's aid.

"Meera!" a youthful voice laughed.

Already stressing out over her fallen bag, Meera flinched when she asked, "What was that?" In the midst of the fox-girl's confusion, the same voice cried, "Meera!" once again.

"That voice," Tails began, his ear twitching. "I've heard it before!"

Wrinkling her nose, Meera listened to the voice as it shouted her name once again. After giving a moment to listen, she realized, "Now that you've mentioned it—so have !"

"Down here!" the voice cried one last time. In response to such a happy noise, Tails looked down at Meera's bag—where he witnessed a little teacup sitting idly by.

"Ringo?" Meera snorted in disbelief.

Recognizing the teacup's face, Tails giggled, "A stowaway! Oh, hello little fella!" Using his frostbitten fingers, he picked Ringo up from the fallen bag. "I didn't' think I'd see you again!"

After letting out a light chuckle, Ringo turned over to Meera—who was still trying to fix her mess of a bag. "Why did you leave?" he asked. "Don't you like us anymore?"

"Of course I do," Meera replied, almost baffled by his question. "It's just—"

A knock on the door interrupted her in mid-sentence. Surprised by such a sudden noise, Meera flicked her head toward her door. _I wonder who that could be. _

Taking no time to hesitate, she picked herself off her feet—forgetting about her bag—and walked toward the door. Listening as Tails resumed playing with the teacup, Meera opened the door—surprised to see a raggedy old mongoose standing before her. "Can I help you?" she wondered through a shaky voice.

A shady look hovering over his gaze, the mongoose replied, "I'm here to collect your brother."

"My bro—what?!"

"Oh don't worry, mademoiselle," he replied whilst pointing to the wagon behind him. "We'll take good care of him."

Wrinkling her nose, Meera asked, "And who exactly is 'we?'" Not even waiting for an answer, she pushed past the stranger; the sight before her nearly took her breath away.

From what Meera had recalled, she lived in a happy village: a place filled to the brim with jubilant people. Standing in front of her house, this people within this miserable excuse for a happy village were accompanied not by love and compassion—but by pitchforks and torches.

Bokkun stood at the bottom of the steps—with Eggman propped against the house, grinning slyly.

Upon peering past the contempt before her, Meera caught sight of the wagon's red lettering.

INSANE ASYLUM

Her heart leapt into her throat. "No!" Meera blocked the door. "NO! I won't let you!"

"What's going on?" Tails asked, abruptly taking a step behind his sister. Casting his gaze straight forward, he found himself horrified as images of flame filled his eyes. It was as if hell had taken a vacation on his own property.

"Tails!" Bokkun cried, witnessing as the fox-boy stood in shock. "Tell us, friend—just how big was the beast?"

"Oh," Tails began after shaking his head, "he was…e-enormous! I'd say at least eight….er…more like ten feet!" The crowd started laughing; it was just like Tails' night at the bar: the night his everlasting depression began.

That was enough for the mongoose. Without warning, he gestured to his two helpers—to which they answered by grabbing Tails by his arms.

"Hey!" the fox-boy cried in agony. "Where are you—?" It was then when he caught sight of the wagon's text—the sight of which made his pupils shrink. Blazing on the inside—but frozen on the inside, he found himself powerless as the helpers started dragging him to the wagon.

"No!" Meera yelled while following the helpers. "You can't do this!"

In the midst of Meera's denial, Eggman blocked her path—putting a hand on Meera's shoulder. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's a shame that this happened."

"Eggman—you know my brother isn't crazy!"

"I might be able to clean this up," he said, "if…"

Meera's ear twitched. "If…?"

Grinning, he continued, "If you marry me."

On the verge of grinding her teeth, Meera screeched, "WHAT?!"

"Once little word, Meera; that's all it takes." He had her now; Meera would have been insane not to accept Eggman's offer! She was the fish to his hook.

"Okay," Meera sighed, "How about this one?" The fox leaned in. "NEVER!"

Part of Meera thought Eggman would be crushed at the hearing of those words. But instead of begging, he shrugged. "Have it your way!"

Through her surprise, Meera had to think fast. _The mirror!_ "My brother isn't crazy!" she declared. "I can prove it!"

"How?" snorted Eggman. "How could you possibly have proof that the beast actually exists."

Without any other option, Meera trailed off into her house.

Such a sight only drove Eggman's impatience. "What are you doing?"

"Hang on!" the fox-girl retorted. Lowering her voice, she murmured, "Oh, where is my mirror?" Having almost completely forgotten about Ringo, she was surprised when the boy responded, "Here it is!"

Turning her head to the source of t he voice, Meera released a sigh of relief before picking up the mirror. "Thanks, Ringo!"

And with that, she rushed outside to Eggman. "Show me the beast!" the commanded to the utensil while running.

"A mirror?" Eggman chuckled. "What will that prove?"

"This!" And with that, she shoved the mirror right in Eggman's face—the action of which forced a gasp out of him.

The fox turned the mirror to face the crowd. Terrifying images of a roaring beast showed—making the crowd scream and gasp in fear.

"Is he dangerous?!" A woman shouted from the crowd.

Shaking her head, Meera responded, "No; he'd never hurt anyone! He's sweet and kind and—"

"If I didn't know any better," Eggman interrupted, "I'd say you had feelings for this monster!"

The fox had been through enough of Eggman's constant yapping. It was time for her to take a stand. "He's no monster, Eggman. YOU ARE!"

Eggman was almost heartbroken by those words—but he wasn't about to let a girl get the better of him. "She's as crazy as the fox-boy!" he retorted.

Suddenly, abrasively, something jumped on Eggman. With a grunt, the foolish man turned over his shoulder and caught sight of Knuckles—who raised his fists in defense. Knuckles began punching him—but to no avail; it didn't take long for him to find himself shackled by Eggman arms.

"And you," Eggman growled, grabbing the echidna by the scruff. "You're nothing but a pest!" Angered beyond belief, he threw Knuckles in the basement.

Now with Knuckles out of the way, Eggman picked up a pitchfork when he proclaimed, "I say we KILL THE BEAST!"

"NO!" Meera yelled. "I won't let you!"

In denial, the crowd swore at Meera before throwing her and Tails in the basement too with Knuckles.

"Wait!" Tails screamed. But by then it was too late; the shadow of a closing door went over him. The sound of a lock split his ears—assuring his fate with Meera and Knuckles.

With those lunatics out of the way, Eggman led the entire village off to battle. If this beast was the only thing standing between him and Meera, he'd do what he did with all of his beast encounters: he'd have Shadow's mounted on the tavern wall.


	17. The Riot Approaches

Ringo watched as the crowd stormed away, ranting, "Kill the beast! Kill the beast!"

_Oh no!_ the little cup thought, realizing he had to do something. In panic, he hopped around the house, searching for something—anything—he could put to use. Unfortunately for him, nothing of use dwelled within his milieu.

Realizing he had nothing to work with, Ringo hopped his way over to the front door—the likes of which hung open from when Meera had earlier opened it. He slipped through the open door—witnessing as the angry mob faded off into the distance.

Out of nowhere, a great pound emanated from a locked door on the ground. "Stupid—OPEN ALREADY!"

"Don't waste your energy," came a female voice. 'Tails designed the door so that you can only unlock from the outside."

Those words made Ringo flinch in recognition. _That's Meera!_ he realized. _She must be in there with her brother and angry echidna guy._ With only minutes to free his friends, the teacup continued hopping, searching, thinking to himself, _I wonder where I can find something to help her?_

In the midst of his searching, his eye shot toward a most peculiar sight. "Ah!" he chimed. "That'll do nicely!"

~3

"What are we going to do?" In frustration, Meera set her head in her hands when she muttered, "We have to warn Shadow!"

"There, there, Meera," her brother said. "We'll think of something." It was while uttering those words when he took a peep through a small crack in the hatch.

_What is that?_ Tails wondered, seeing something mechanical—almost robotic—moving through this crack. Such a mechanism brought a hint of familiarity within his head; just _something_ about it made his ear twitch. That was when it hit him. In realization, the fox's tails shot up in surprise.

"HIT THE DECK!" Tails yelled, grabbing Meera and diving to the floor.

"What?" wondered Meera, tackled beneath her brother's arm.

"No way!" Knuckles snorted while folding his arms. "I'm useless here. I'm not moving!"

"But Knuckles—" Tails protested.

"NOT moving!"

Meera shrugged. "Have it your way."

Despite the warnings, Knuckles stood in once place. Such an action led him powerless as something large crashed through the door, ran him over, and exploded in a great, red cloud of smoke—leaving a great mess of parts and pieces all over the place.

Coughing, Tails waved the dust out of his face. It didn't take long for him to catch sight of the mechanical device before him. Such a device was his own invention—and dangling by his handle nose was Ringo.

Knuckles, covered in ash and rubble, glared at the little teacup—but could only make out a slight white blur.

"…They did tell you to move, Knuckles," said Ringo.

~3

"It probably would have been better if ze girl had never come here!" Flamiere grunted, crossing his arms.

"Don't say that!" Starling gasped. "If it wasn't for her, Shadow would have never learned to love again!"

"What good will ze love be when our Master is dead?" asked the candlestick whilst raising an eyebrow.

_Good point,_ the teapot realized with a sigh. Part of her wanted to argue, but a great part of her knew it was futile. If Flamiere was angry, there was no use trying to reason with him; he would always find some logical way to combat one's words. Silver and Ruby knew this well—otherwise they would have tried backing up Starling's claims.

In the midst of her surrender, Starling heard the gate to the castle creak open. Letting out another gasp, she wondered "Could it be?"

"Is it she?" the four servants asked in unison. It was at that moment when they hopped up to the nearest window—only to find themselves traumatized by the sight before them.

"_Sacre bleu_!" Flamiere exclaimed. The mob of angry Mobians had come at last—and were currently storming through the gate. "INVADERS!"

Witnessing Flamiere's distress, Silver decided to do what he did best: take charge. "We must warn the Master!" he exclaimed. "Quickly! Grab everyone and head into battle!"

The others nodded and did as instructed.

~3

"Sir!" Starling gasped, busting through the West Wing door. "The castle's—!"

"Leave me be, Starling," her Master grunted, his head held low.

"But Sir! The castle's under attack!"

Shadow looked down and clenched his fists. Closing his eyes, he ordered through a murmur, "It doesn't matter anymore. Just let them come." _They may do to me what they wish. No one's going to miss a beast like me._


	18. In The Beginning

After what felt like hours of marching, Eggman and his followers burst through the castle door—finding themselves within the foyer. Eerie silence surrounded them all; such a change in noise made them feel somewhat uneasy. As this aura seeped into their minds, Eggman and his followers noticed all the objects clouding the foyer.

"Take whatever booty you find," Eggman commanded. "But remember: the beast is mine!"

Giving a quick nod of his head, Bokkun picked up a nearby candelabrum—the likes of which was already lit for visitors.

This is just what Flamiere had planned. Feeling as the boy's fingers wrapped around his stand, he hesitantly opened his eyes and shouted, "NOW!"

As suddenly as that single word was uttered, the lights flashed on. With the element of surprise, the objects started a war against the angry mob members. Such a battle confused the mob, scarred the mob, mutilated the mob—until they were left wishing they had never dared to harm Shadow.

Starling and her little cups poured hot tea on one of the fellows who came too close. Rouge trapped another in her cabinets—frightening him away with the new look. Silver deafened a mob member with his alarm.

In the midst of their ostensible victory, Bokkun cornered Flamiere—cackling as he pushed a torch closer and closer to the candelabrum. The sight of the waving torch drew Flamiere to trembling in fear; little did he know, his wax was melting at a dangerous rate. As Flamiere stood by—ready for death—Bokkun suddenly let out a scream and took a high leap into the air.

Little did Bokkun know, Silver—dressed in a Napoleon outfit—stood on the stair rail behind the Mobian was. Resting in his hands was a pair of scissors.

"Silver!" the candlestick exclaimed. Upon climbing his way up the stair, Flamiere grabbed and gave him a traditional two-kiss thank you—to which Silver replied with a slightly disgusted shrug. "Please," he muttered, "don't do that again."

As the candelabrum rolled his eyes, he heard as an ear-splitting scream filled the air. _Who is zat? _he wondered. Another scream answered his question: _Ruby!_

His heart leaping into his throat, Flamiere rushed past Silver and toward the source of the noise. It didn't take long for him to witness as one of the men held Ruby upside down in his hand—ripping out her feathers all the while. "Ah! Let me go!" she screamed as her tormenter laughed. "OUCH!"

At that moment, a newfound courage flared within Flamiere—giving him the strength to lurch toward the evil Mobian. "HANDS OFF MA CHERI!" he cried as he ignited his flame.

Letting out a yelp, the Mobian felt the burn and jumped; it was then when he ran away and threw Ruby into the air.

_Gotta time zis just right,_ Flamiere thought, positioning his arms to catch Ruby. With only seconds coming after this thought, Flamiere felt as Ruby made a smooth crash into his arms.

Surprised to feel these arms caressed beneath her, the feather duster took a look up at him.

Letting a smile turn his lips up, Flamiere asked, "Are you alright, Ruby?"

"I'm fine," the feather duster sighed in relief. "Thank you for saving me."

In the midst of the two lovers' relief, all the men fled the castle, never to return—at least _almost _all of them.

~3

There Eggman stood—staring and aiming his bow at Shadow.

Taken away by his own agony, the hedgehog turned to look at Eggman—but did nothing. Shadow was going to die anyway; his last ray of hope was nowhere to be found. He groaned sadly and looked back out the window.

In the midst of his agony, Shadow felt as an arrow struck him in the shoulder. In response to such a sudden attack, his shoulder turned into a blood well—staining the surrounding fur in scarlet. Throwing his head skyward, Shadow roared in pain.

"What's the matter?" Eggman laughed, now closer to Shadow than ever. Pushing the hedgehog out into the rain, he sneered, "Too kind and gentle to fight back?" He pulled a stone structure from the wall and walked up to the hedgehog—who was too depressed, too hopeless to care what happened next.

"No!" a familiar feminine voice cried out. His ears twitching at the utterance of the one word, Shadow took a look up toward the source of the voice. Upon doing so, he caught sight of Meera, Knuckles, and Tails as they stood above him. In disbelief, Shadow cried, "Meera?!"

"Eggman—please!" Meera pleaded, her tears mixing in with the rain surrounding them. "Don't!"

Just as surprised by Meera's sudden appearance as Shadow, Eggman shot a look down at the three Mobians. _How did they get out of the basement?_ he wondered in complete disarray.

In the midst of Eggman's confusion, Shadow took a hold of the club in Eggman's hand. Ready to fight, Shadow stood up and let out a great angry roar.

The sound of this roar temporarily deafening him, Eggman pulled the club away and swung—but missed—and watched as Shadow disappeared among the gargoyle and beast statues. Hidden amongst the shadows, the beast waited for the man's next move.

_Not this game,_ Eggman thought with a grunt. Walking into the darkness, Eggman taunted, "Were you in love with her?" Eggman taunted. He started smashing the statue heads one by one. "Do you honestly think she'd want you? She could have someone better—someone with charm—like me!"

Trying everything he could to ignore these words, Shadow snuck up behind Eggman. _Yes, I was in love with her,_ he silently responded, _more than you could ever know. And why would she want someone with your charm? Why would she want _anybody _like you—somebody who tries to force people like Meera into marrying somebody they don't love?_

As Shadow thought those things over with himself, he witnessed as Eggman swung once again—only to miss the hedgehog completely. "Give up!" he yelled. "MEERA IS MINE!"

_Enough of this, _the hedgehog thought. Full of rage, he leapt from the shadows and roared once again—knocking Eggman to the ground. Using his enormous monster hand, he grabbed Eggman by his throat and suspended him over the side of the castle.

Realizing where he now was, Eggman pleaded, "D-don't drop me! Please! I-I'll do anything!"

Those words were enough to stop Shadow where he was. Even as he stared Eggman straight in the eye, Shadow felt the great urge to drop Eggman into the rapids below—but something inside him screamed, _This man has had enough. Let him go free!_

The hedgehog's rage subsided; in response to the inner voice, he pulled the man back to safety—throwing him to the ground all the while. "Get out," Shadow whispered.

"Shadow!"

Taking a look up at the West Wing balcony, the wet hedgehog caught sight of the one he loved. "Meera!" His eyes lighting up, Shadow approached a pillar and started climbing up to her.

_Shadow, _the fox-girl thought. _I have returned. _It was while uttering those silent words when she stretched her hand out, waiting for him to reach her.

Within heartbeats, Shadow reached the top of the pillar. "You come back for me," he murmured while grabbing her hand.

A blush plastered upon Meera's wet cheeks when she smiled back. "Shadow," she murmured, her eyes shining. "Oh, Shadow—I—"

Just then, Shadow let out an ear-splitting roar. Eggman had driven a knife deep into the side of the hedgehog's waist.

Just as Eggman drew back for another stab, he suddenly lost his grip on Shadow's back. "Meera!" he cried, reaching for Meera. Rather than grab the man's hand, Meera grabbed Shadow instead—letting Eggman fall into the rapids below.

The sound of Eggman's screams filling his ears, Shadow weakly looked up at Meera when he moaned, "You came back."

Using all her strength, Meera pulled the hedgehog out from the pillar—wincing at the sight of blood. "Of course I did," she responded. Looking down at his punctured waist, she continued, "But I should've gotten here sooner..."

"M…Maybe it's better this way…" the injured hedgehog responded through a whisper.

"D-don't talk like that!" Meera demanded, clutching the beast's hand. "Please—I—I don't know what I would do without you."

Shadow coughed. "…You'll be alright. We're together now."

"At least…I got to see you." Drawing his hand up to her moist face, she continued, "Just one last time." Sniffling, the fox-girl felt as her eyes filled with tears. In sheer misery, she held his hand close—feeling as it went limp.

The sound of Shadow's breathing filled Meera's ears—making bringing with it her last hope for Shadow's vitality. Such a lovely sound slowed down as time went on; Meera listened as Shadow heaved forth one final breath.

Then—as if to tear at her aching heart—nothing followed. He was dead.

"Shadow?" Meera gasped. She let a pause come into place—but received nothing in response. "No," she cried, shaking her head in denial. "No!" It was at that moment when she tried everything; she rubbed his shoulder and slapped his cheek and screamed into his ear—but received nothing in response.

In defeat, Meera buried her head in his chest and cried, "Please…don't leave me! Please!" That was when she bent into his ear and whispered, "I love you…"

As the moment of confession came at last, the servants—after pushing through the greatest war of their lives—kept their eyes on the black emerald. Each of them surrounded the gem—feeling as their hope faded away at last. Along with their fading hope came the emerald's color. Within seconds, it turned black like the Master's fur.

_It's over,_ they all thought in unison.

Silver—of all people—was the first of the servants to cry; then the rest followed. They were doomed to live as objects forever. With their Master deceased, the emerald black as charcoal, and Meera's heart shattered, there was no hope within the span of a thousand miles.

As Meera continued weeping, her ear twitched as a faint whooshing sound spread into the air. Such a sound grew louder and louder as time went on.

_What is that? _she wondered while wiping her eyes and nose. Taking a look up, she discovered the source of such a noise—finding herself completely awestruck at the sight before her.

Before her tear-lined eyes, the raindrops turned into shining golden streams of light. Such beautiful, luminescent streams surrounded Shadow—pulling him up into the air.

In the midst of this wondrous sight, Meera found herself blinded. As a result, she was forced to look away as Shadow made his ascent toward the sky.

Stupefied by the aura surrounding his Master, Flamiere took a glance in Silver's direction. _Is he doing zat? _the candelabrum wondered, his eyes clouded in the golden light surrounding Shadow.

Within heartbeats, it was all over. The shine had faded away at last—as did the rain surrounding the castle.

Opening her eyes, Meera peered over at where Shadow was—letting out a gasp upon catching sight of the hedgehog before her.

There Shadow stood. His ordinary red-and-black pelt covered him, he had crimson red eyes, and he stood about six inches taller than Meera; there was nothing out of the ordinary about that. However, his spines were neatly straightened out—as if he had spent the last hour combing them.

Startled, he stared down at his hands. _They're…normal!_ he realized in awe. _How can that be?_

That was when he looked over his shoulder—catching sight of a familiar fox-girl. Turning around, Shadow murmured, "Meera—it's me!"

_Shadow?_ Unsure of the hedgehog standing before her, she hesitantly watched up and touched a hand to his fur. _It's the same texture,_ she realized, _just a little shorter._

Keeping the thought in mind, she looked into his eyes—witnessing as the hedgehog gave her a soft, warm look. Meera was taken aback; this was the person she had seen in the portrait!

Feeling as if she had just been thrown into a fairytale storybook, the fox-girl gasped, "It _is_ you!"

It was at that moment when they both stared into each other's eyes—completely lost in themselves. Shadow put a hand on her cheek and began to lean in slowly; Meera did the same. And then—at last—their lips finally intertwined.

As the moment of truth came at last, colorful balls of light sprung into the air—exploding all the while. The debris from said balls of light pieces showered over the castle—completely changing is appearance.

What was once a dark shade of gray had turned into a bright, shining white. At the same time, the statues—the likes of which resembled gargoyles and beasts—transformed into majestic griffons and angels. What were once stained windows turned into glistened layers of glass as the clouds rolled away, revealing the great sunlight. For the first time in a decade, the castle was beautiful.

Realizing what had just happened, Shadow and Meera withdrew and looked around at their surroundings.

"My castle!" Shadow whispered, completely awestruck.

Panting, Tails and Knuckles ran up into the West Wing.

"Meera!" Tails exclaimed, squeezing his sister. Pulling away, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Tails," the fox-girl chuckled in response.

"Excuse me, Master," came Flamiere's voice.

In response to the accented voice, Shadow turned around once again—finding himself stricken with awe once again. In the places of the objects and furniture stood Mobians.

What was once a candelabrum was now a slender yellow cat. He was wearing a red vest, slightly darker red die, a black suit, pants, and shoes. On his forehead was an orange insignia—the likes of which resembled a flame. Glancing over at Shadow, the cat's eyes glistened—highlighting his golden-orange irises.

In Silver's place sprung up a white hedgehog with yellow eyes. He looked as if he had feathers on his forehead; said feathers fanned around past his ears. Despite being much shorter, he wore the same clothes as Flamiere.

Starling was now a light-gray lemur—although the same black star sat around her eye. Her tail was long and cat-like with black rings around it. Unlike Flamiere and Silver, she wore a casual, everyday yellow dress. While she was the oldest of those within the castle, it didn't seem at all like this lemur's true age was thirty-two.

"Flamiere! Silver! Starling!" Shadow laughed in pure joy. "Look at us!" At that moment, a great smile—larger than anything the servants had seen upon the hedgehog's face—turned up Shadow's lips.

Slightly nervous, the servants smiled back.

"YOU?!" came Knuckles' voice.

Everyone turned and looked at the red echidna—who was pointing at the white bat standing before them.

"It's not polite to point, Knucklehead," the bat snorted, her hands on her hips.

Starling recognized the voice. "Rouge—you know him?"

"Know me?" Knuckles cut in. "I used to see her every day until a few years ago! She's a thief!"

"I prefer the term 'jewel lover,' Hun," Rouge retorted.

As the echidna and bat continued bickering, Shadow grabbed Meera by her hand.

"Oh!" Meera chuckled. It was at that moment when she felt Shadow pull her arm—dragging her into the ballroom. Before she knew it, Meera found herself dancing and laughing along with Shadow.

As Flamiere looked down at himself—glad to be back to his original self—Silver stood beside him, laughing as the cat eyed a squirrel from across the room.

"Who is zat beautiful _mademoiselle_?" the yellow cat wondered.

Raising an eyebrow, Silver responded, "It's Ruby! Didn't you recognize her?"

"Ruby?" Flamiere blinked in surprise. "Zat beautiful girl is Ruby?"

Ruby had light brown curly hair and darker-brown fur. Her eyes shimmered cerulean blue—as did the dress covering her body.

_She's perfect!_ the shy cat thought to himself.

Tapping his friend on the shoulder, Silver whispered into Flamiere's ear, "Go talk to her, Flamiere!"

In the midst of Silver's encouragement, Flamiere suddenly remembered the kiss on the cheek he received earlier. He remembered the kiss he shared with Ruby's lips—how magical that moment had been! Despite all he had gone through, Flamiere could only respond, "I—I can't. She's too pretty! I could never win her, Silver! Ruby is not just your average _mademoiselle_!"

"Really?" came a feminine voice from behind. "Then what am I?"

Letting out a screech, Flamiere turned around toward the source of the voice. _She has a really annoying habit of showing up behind me when I'm talking about her,_ he thought, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

As the frantic feline faced the sly squirrel, Silver had used his powers to slowly move Flamiere a few inches closer to Ruby.

"B-bonjour, Ruby," the cat stuttered.

"_Bonjour_," she replied. "Now then—what were you saying, Flamiere?"

Through his worries and dread, he shivered and blushed—growing more and more nervous by the second. "I…I must tell you something."

"Oh really?" asked Ruby, her arms crossing. "I'm listening."

_Time to be brave,_ the cat thought "Ruby—I lo—I—I love…"

In response to Flamiere's uncontrollable stammering, the squirrel let out a giggle.

_Damn it! _Flamiere thought in French.

A gulp sliding down his throat, Flamiere decided to try again. "Ruby…I—I—lo—I l—I lo—"

"Flamiere?"

His pupils shrinking, Flamiere felt as if he had just ruined his chances with the squirrel. _Damn it, damn it!_ he swore. _It's over now—I just know it! I'll never be able to face her after zis! _Fighting back tears, he met Ruby's gaze when he asked, "What?"

Dashing Flamiere's fears away, Ruby grabbed his tie and pulled him down to her level. "Just shut up and kiss me."

His eyes widening in utter surprise, Flamiere felt as her lips pressed against his own. With fur bristled and standing up on end, he realized, _She—she's kissing me!_ It was heartbeats later when he relaxed, closed his eyes, and began to purr.

_Oh!_ Ruby thought, withdrawing from Flamiere. "You're purring," she giggled in surprise. _I almost forgot about his feline nature._

"Well," Flamiere began with a chuckle, "it is not every day I get to kiss ze most wonderful _mademoiselle_ in ze castle!"

In sheer modesty, the squirrel blushed. "I'm not that wonderful," she murmured.

Flamiere didn't feel nervous anymore. On the contrary, he grinned at Ruby—the kind of grin which showed what a real man he was. Pulling her close, he whispered, "You are to me, _Cheri_." And with that, Flamiere kissed her once again.

Now in the form of a lemur-boy, Ringo rushed up to his mother—panting all the while. "Mama?" Ringo asked, catching his breath. "Are they going to live happily ever after?"

Starling could only smile. Placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, she responded, "Of course they are, dear."


End file.
